United States President Donald Trump has threatened to launch unprecedented and “crushing economic sanctions” against Iran after the two countries again failed to reach a peace agreement. He warned that any country offering Tehran a lifeline will face severe financial retaliation.
Trump earlier indicated that Washington might resume talks with Tehran at “some point”, stressing that US demands remain strictly focused on preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said the United States is looking for an “honourable exit” from the Middle East while pushing a “new regional order”.
Preliminary shipping data released on Thursday showed that vessel traffic in the Strait of Hormuz did not rise on Wednesday, reflecting the ongoing deadlock in discussions between the US and Iran to end the war. The semi-official news outlet described the threatened measures as a continuation of Washington’s failed “maximum pressure” campaign.
Dismissing Trump’s remarks as “grand, exaggerated language”, reports said that earlier sanctions had failed to alter Iran’s behaviour and that the country had long developed ways to circumvent foreign trade and financial restrictions. Meanwhile, other Iranian sources rejected Trump’s claims as “delusional” and framed them as part of recurring propaganda.
Sources said the US had repeatedly predicted Iran’s “imminent collapse” and military destruction without producing concrete results, adding that such statements served mainly as psychological warfare rather than a reflection of reality.
Oil prices stabilised in early trade on Thursday. Brent crude futures for October delivery rose 25 cents, or 0.3 per cent, to $91.87 a barrel as of 00:37 GMT.
US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures for September slipped 2 cents to $85.81 a barrel, while the more active October WTI contract gained 14 cents, or 0.2 per cent, to $84.53.
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