Iran has vowed retaliation against the US after president Donald Trump unveiled his “economic D-Day” sanctions against Tehran.
Iranian economy minister Ali Madanizadeh claimed Tehran was “fully prepared for the US sanctions”. “Our defence is no longer so defensive; the enemies should wait for an attack,” he told state media.
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth said the pivot to economic measures did not mean American strikes against Iran were off the table, saying that "by no means are we foreclosing using kinetic strikes anywhere in the Strait of Hormuz or around Iran”.
It comes after US treasury secretary Scott Bessent vowed to “tighten the noose” with fresh secondary sanctions on Tehran's trade partners, declaring that “no nation should expect to enjoy the rewards of our system while working with a regime that seeks to destroy it”. He said that an unnamed financial institution could expect to be sanctioned by the end of this week.
The Trump administration is turning up the economic pressure on Iran as the conflict drags on for nearly six months and reports say that the US military’s weapons stockpile is dwindling. President Trump has refuted the reporting, saying his country has ‘massive amounts of ‘munitions’”.
China’s foreign ministry has responded to US Iran-related sanction threats and said that it’s cooperation with Iran is always done under the framework of international law and should not be disrupted or interfered with.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent announced punitive measures against Tehran’s trading partners on Monday but stopped short of the most severe sanctions.
Tehran has promised to hit back against expanded US sanctions and expressed confidence that major trading partners would resist Washington’s pressure.
US treasury secretary Scott Bessent unveiled the sanctions on Monday but stopped short of the most punishing measures and said countries that continued trading with Iran could risk being forced out of the dollar-based financial system.
He did not identify the countries targeted or which penalties would take effect and instead said there would be a period for them to consider their position and make amendments.
The US has delisted Syria as a state sponsor of terrorism, rescinding a decades-old designation. The US state department also removed its designation of al-Nusrah Front, known as Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, as a global terrorist organisation.
"Today's action will help foster additional investment in Syria to promote political and economic stability," treasury secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
Iranian state media has claimed there is a $10 million bounty on Barron Trump, president Donald Trump’s 20-year-old son, according to a new report. Footage broadcast on Channel 3, which is linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was titled “Where and how should we kill Barron Trump?” Euronews reported. It reportedly displayed the location of his university, as well as Secret Service positions and escort vehicles, while claiming his whereabouts were “fully monitored.”
The US has imposed sanctions on Singapore-based Wellbred Capital and its trading firms in the UAE and Switzerland, citing links with Iran, as it steps up measures to target Tehran's global financial links. The company had ties to Iranian oil shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the US treasury's office of foreign assets control said on its website.
"Shamkhani built Wellbred as a company outside the network’s Iranian business, though Shamkhani is ultimately responsible for Wellbred’s operations," it added in a statement outlining the measures targeting nearly 60 companies, individuals and ships.
US public approval of the war with Iran fell to its lowest level since the conflict's early days, helping to hold president Donald Trump's popularity at a record low, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll. The four-day poll showed just 31 per cent of Americans support US military action against Iran, down from 37 per cent in a March Reuters/Ipsos poll and 34 per cent earlier this month. The decline was driven by fewer self-identified Republicans backing the conflict. Some 69 per cent of Republican respondents support the war, compared with 77 per cent in March.
