US President Donald Trump has again claimed that the Strait of Hormuz is now American territory, reposting an image on his Truth Social account showing a map of the region with the waterway circled and the caption “NEW US territory”.
It is the second time in a week that Trump has posted the image.
At the same time, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned on Saturday that Tehran would regard any country taking part in Washington’s economic campaign against Iran as an enemy.
“Any country that participates in imposing economic restrictions against us is considered an enemy,” the Iranian official said.
“We tell all the countries around us and all the countries of the world: do not participate in the economic war being waged by the United States,” Rezaei told state television, after Washington announced plans to strengthen economic sanctions aimed at increasing pressure on Tehran.
If countries refuse “to distance themselves” from the United States, Iran “will strike their interests”, he added.
“We have not yet attacked American economic interests and so far we have targeted only military bases, but if they want to impose economic sanctions on us, the United States has oil and economic companies around Iran and elsewhere and we will strike them,” Rezaei said.
If Trump takes action, “our response will be like an earthquake”, he added.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is due to hold a press conference at 2 pm local time, 9 pm in Greece, on Monday, amid warnings that Washington will unveil “the toughest sanctions in history” against Iran.
Washington has called on other governments, including Beijing, to join efforts to isolate the Iranian economy. China, a strategic economic partner of Iran, has criticised the initiative, arguing that US “sanctions and pressure” will not resolve the conflict in the Middle East.
The United Arab Emirates, one of Iran’s major trading partners, announced on Tuesday that it was suspending “all trade and financial transactions” with the country until further notice.
