Accuses US of using the dollar as a tool to pressure other countries into aligning with its policies toward Iran
The Iranian flag is seen flying over a street in Tehran, Iran, February 3, 2023. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISTANBUL:
Iran said on Friday that the US “Operation Economic Outcast” campaign against Tehran violated international law, describing the latest sanctions drive as “economic terrorism.”
In a statement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry accused Washington of using the US dollar as a tool to pressure other countries into aligning with its policies toward Tehran, saying such actions violated national sovereignty and international law.
The ministry described the operation as “US state terrorism against Iran and the world.”
It said Operation Economic Outcast reflected an intention to inflict suffering on the Iranian people and deprive them of fundamental human rights, describing the campaign as an “international crime” and a “crime against humanity.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Friday urged other countries not to enforce a new round of US sanctions against Tehran, calling the measures illegal and accusing Washington of “using the dollar” to pressure governments into following its policies.
The ministry was responding to… pic.twitter.com/nN4kVDxUp4
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) August 28, 2026
The foreign ministry said US economic sanctions against Iran, regardless of how they were designated, violated the UN Charter, international humanitarian law and human rights, arguing that countries should refrain from implementing them.
Tehran also said participation in unilateral US sanctions amounted to complicity in imposing Washington’s will on independent states and disrupting their legitimate economic and trade relations.
The ministry vowed to use “all capacities” to defend Iran against what it called the US-Israeli “military-economic offensive and hybrid war.”
The US launched Operation Economic Outcast on Monday, targeting what Washington described as Iran’s key economic lifelines, including its oil, shipping, aviation, gold, technology and digital asset sectors.
Read: Trump claims Iran ‘completely collapsing’ as US threatens ‘economic D-Day’
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the campaign aimed to isolate Iran from the global financial system, while Washington also blacklisted more than 60 entities, individuals and vessels worldwide.
“We are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe,” Bessent said, adding that the US objective was to sever every economic lifeline sustaining the Iranian regime until Tehran stood alone.
In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a campaign with our allies to target and drive the enemy from its positions, including those in third countries. Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections… pic.twitter.com/1fLyobUucu
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) August 24, 2026
Read More: US broadens sanctions front against Iran
The department said it had mapped networks, facilitators and financial channels used by Iran to smuggle oil and evade sanctions, and would work with US partners to target sources of what it described as Iran’s “illicit revenue”.
Almost six months into the war, the two sides remain locked in a stalemate, with peace efforts stalled and the Strait of Hormuz still closed. US President Donald Trump had claimed that Iran was “completely collapsing”.
Trump has increasingly shifted towards economic pressure as the conflict’s costs have mounted, while maintaining that the measures are necessary to ensure Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. The conflict has pushed energy prices higher worldwide and added to domestic political pressure on his administration.
