Iran rips Trump's 'empty talk' while issuing blistering ultimatum to neighboring nations

By JAMES GORDON, US NEWS REPORTER Published: 00:17, 24 August 2026 | Updated: 00:17, 24 August 2026 Iran has dismissed Donald Trump's threats of economic warfare as 'empty talk' while warning neighboring countries not to help Washington squeeze Tehran. Iran's powerful security chief Mohsen Rezaei threatened retaliation against any nearby nation that joins the US crackdown and warned Tehran could stop oil from flowing through the Persian Gulf. 'If countries neighboring Iran cooperate with the Americans in the economic war, we will target their interests,' Rezaei declared. 'The world has realized that Trump's bluster is nothing but empty talk,' Rezaei said in an interview with Iranian state media on Saturday. He then turned his fire on countries surrounding Iran, warning that Tehran could dramatically widen its economic confrontation if they side with Washington. Iran does not want to expand the war across the Middle East, Rezaei insisted, but he delivered a threat to his neighbors. 'If they start such an action, we will not allow a single drop of oil to pass through the Persian Gulf,' Rezaei added. Donald Trump is preparing to dramatically intensify his economic campaign against Iran, with Washington promising what Treasury Secretary has called the toughest sanctions yet Iran's powerful security chief Mohsen Rezaei has warned neighboring countries that helping Washington's economic crackdown could see Tehran target their interests The warning potentially puts major Gulf energy producers on notice as Trump prepares to ratchet up his campaign of economic pressure against Tehran. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have spent years developing and expanding alternative export routes that reduce their reliance on the Strait of Hormuz, allowing oil to reach ports on the Red Sea and Gulf of Oman. But Rezaei indicated those routes may not necessarily be beyond Tehran's reach either, threatening alternative pathways used to move Gulf oil to international markets. His comments amount to one of the clearest warnings yet that Iran's hardline security establishment could increasingly regard cooperation with Washington's economic campaign as participation in the wider conflict. Rezaei also insisted that Iran would 'neutralize the economic war' being waged by the US, with the Trump administration expected to unveil details of tougher sanctions on Monday. The combative rhetoric comes amid growing indications of a potentially serious split at the highest levels of power in Tehran. While Rezaei is promising resistance and threatening retaliation, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian struck a dramatically different tone on Sunday, declaring that his country 'cannot continue with war forever.' Pezeshkian openly defended the memorandum of understanding Iran reached with the United States in June, despite reported reservations from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. President Masoud Pezeshkian has struck a markedly different tone from Tehran's hardliners, arguing that Iran cannot remain at war indefinitely Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attends an event to mark the first day of the 'Government Week' at the mausoleum of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, on Sunday That agreement ultimately collapsed last month. But the Iranian president argued that Tehran cannot remain indefinitely trapped between outright conflict and an elusive peace. 'One day, a decision must be made to save the country from the state of "neither war nor peace,"' Pezeshkian said. He maintained that officials directly involved in negotiations believed the agreement with Washington had offered Iran its best available path forward. 'By implementing this memorandum, we can resolve the problems with logic and dignity,' Pezeshkian said, according to Iranian state news agency IRNA. Pezeshkian made clear Sunday that military strength alone could not protect the Islamic Republic if its people lost faith in their government. 'We must stand with the people,' he said. 'If we cannot serve them and convince them that we all belong to the same land and country, then even if we possess the greatest military power, we will be defeated.' The president said his government was fighting to improve the lives of Iranians battered by the country's economic difficulties. It was trying with all its strength, he said, to 'steer inflation, public problems, people's livelihoods, people's jobs, people's future, and people's lives towards dignity and pride.' The Strait of Hormuz remains at the heart of the confrontation, with Iran effectively blockading the strategic waterway and severely disrupting global oil shipments Tehran is now threatening to stop oil traffic through the Persian Gulf if neighboring countries help Washington enforce its escalating economic campaign 'Sometimes, a wise compromise can achieve more than hundreds of wars,' Khomeini said. But Rezaei's comments suggest Iran's powerful military-security establishment is preparing for precisely the opposite possibility. The former senior military commander said Iran would introduce new capabilities and alter its approach across several fronts. 'We will see changes in the conduct of the war, in diplomacy, and in political and social affairs, and new capabilities will be brought into play,' he said. Rezaei, an adviser to Supreme Leader Khamenei, also declared that Tehran would refuse to bow to US demands and maintained that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until Washington fulfilled what Iran considers its commitments. The strait has become one of Tehran's most powerful weapons in its showdown with Washington because of its enormous importance to the global energy trade. But there are signs that Iran's ability to exert pressure through the waterway could be challenged. Shipping data indicates more crude is now leaving the Gulf using a southern route close to Oman, while some oil companies have developed tactics designed to allow tankers to make the journey without being detected. That threatens to erode some of the leverage Tehran has exercised by restricting one of the world's most strategically important energy corridors.