Iran Claims Preparedness Against US 'Economic Warfare' with Counter-Plans

RABAT, August 23. /TASS/. Iran’s authorities have a plan of how to respond to each of the United States’ hostile step and how to avoid negative impacts of Washington’s new sanctions, spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, elite units of the Iranian army) Hossein Mohebi said. "[US President Donald] Trump’s executive order on the launch of the toughest economic warfare against Iran mounts to a tacit acknowledgement of Washington’s defeat on the military front," he said, as cited by the SNN agency. Washington’s economic war is nothing new for Tehran, he said, adding that the United States "has been waging such a war for 47 years and has imposed sanctions on all the pillars of the Iranian economy." "Iran has a plan of how to respond to each enemy action. We also have a scenario of how to avoid negative impacts of the new pressure and establish economic relations with various countries," he stressed. "The Islamic Republic has no concerns whatsoever in the economic sphere," he said. In his words, the Iranian authorities "are developing economic ties right under the United States' nose, bypassing them, and the results will be seen in the near future." Earlier, Trump announced the launch of "economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale" against Iran. The US leader also warned that countries whose financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government agencies support Tehran will face serious economic consequences from Washington. Following this move, the Iranian foreign ministry slammed the United States’ economic policy toward Iran as "economic terrorism and a crime against humanity." "The US administration, those who developed sanctions plans and those who are implementing them must be appropriately punished," it said.