People walk by an anti-American billboard displayed at Rah Ahen Square in Tehran, Iran, on Aug. 25, 2026. (AFP/Yonhap)
Iran was defiant in response to the US Treasury Secretary’s announcement Monday of sanctions through its “Operation Economic Outcast.”In an interview on Tuesday with Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, Iranian Minister of Economic Affairs Seyed Ali Madanizadeh said that Tehran had “already developed an economic plan that encompasses the next two years.”“Plans for responding to sanctions were devised a long time ago, and we are sufficiently prepared for new sanctions as well,” he added.Madanizadeh acknowledged that Iran’s steel and petrochemical industries had been gravely impacted by the war but said there have been efforts to normalize the situation in a short time, and reconstruction work has already begun.He further stressed that the flows of global finance were not powerful enough to cut off the Iranian economy’s lifeline.Citing an announcement by the Central Bank of Iran, he said the monthly inflation rate had dropped to around half its level the month before. He further claimed that over 90% of tax payment obligations had been met in 2025 despite the war.He also said Iran had prevented the unemployment of around 600,000 people through a business operational fund support program amounting to roughly 80 trillion toman.The Iranian leadership was unanimous in rejecting the efficacy of the US sanctions.In a message posted to X on Tuesday, Iranian Speaker of the Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf argued that the US is “not in an economic position to further limit relations with other countries” and said that Iran’s trading partners were not considering the sanctions a threat.Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the US’ claims of having dismantled Iranian military strength and dealing the country the biggest financial blow in history did not make sense.Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said, “Any escalation of this situation will undoubtedly bring about consequences.”“Our hands are not tied,” he asserted.Mohsen Rezaee, the new secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, announced a day earlier that countries’ support of the sanctions would be regarded as an “act of war.”On the same day that the US announced its new sanctions, the Iranian government said that 45 tankers and other vessels had been blacklisted for violating rules of passage in the Strait of Hormuz, including at least one belonging to a Korean company. Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority posted a message on X that day stating that vessels on its blacklist could face fines, detention, and confiscation of cargo. In addition to tankers belonging to Sinokor — South Korea’s third-ranked shipping company — the blacklist also included tankers registered with Norway, the Netherlands, and Saudi Arabia.By Kwak Jin-san, staff reporterPlease direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
