\n The sweeping secondary sanctions <\/a>unveiled by Bessent include penalties for Iranian trade partners in sectors that the Islamic Republic uses to prop its economy, such as digital assets, technology and shipping. But the much-anticipated announcement of Trump\u2019s \u201ceconomic D-Day\u201d measures left many underwhelmed after Washington decided to hold off on imposing major new measures, instead focusing largely on expanding and stepping up enforcement of existing sanctions, while warning that stricter penalties could follow for countries that did not cut ties.\n <\/p>\n \n Instead of succumbing to the threats, Iran is touting its ability to inflict reciprocal pain, warning of expanded strikes on regional oil producers and European countries, and even teasing the weaponization of its nuclear program.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe\u2019ve been playing chess for a long time\u2026we\u2019ve also learned to play poker,\u201d Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters on Monday. \u201cNow, for some time, we\u2019ve been playing a combination of the two.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Here\u2019s how Iran could respond to the US economic escalation:\n <\/p>\n \n For months, Iran has blocked vessels from using the Strait of Hormuz<\/a>, preventing regional countries from exporting oil and gas through a route that before the war accounted for a fifth of global supplies. Iran\u2019s proxy in Yemen, the Houthi group, has recently opened a new front in the Red Sea<\/a>, targeting Saudi oil exports and infrastructure.\n <\/p>\n \n Now, the Islamic Republic\u2019s top military officials are threatening to strike energy targets beyond the Strait of Hormuz, potentially hitting some of the emerging oil shipment routes that bypass the waterway.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIf the economic war continues, not a single drop of oil will be exported, neither through the Strait of Hormuz nor from anywhere in the Persian Gulf,\u201d Mohsen Rezaei, the leader of Iran\u2019s Supreme National Security Council, wrote on X. \u201cWe will retaliate in an earthquake-like manner,\u201d he said later in a televised interview.\n <\/p>\n \n Any resulting attacks or disruption to shipping could drive global oil prices higher, likely raising gasoline prices at US pumps.\n <\/p>\n \n Aided by the US Navy, Saudi, Kuwaiti, Qatari and UAE <\/a>oil companies have started turning transponders off in their oil tankers to evade detection by Iranian authorities, and have been exporting oil with some success, although crossings are well below pre-war figures.\n <\/p>\n \n Saudi Arabia has rerouted about 5 million barrels of oil per day through its East-West pipeline that allows it to export via the Red Sea instead of Hormuz. Middle Eastern oil producers have rerouted another 2 million barrels per day around the strait.\n <\/p>\n \n Iran has signaled that it has those tankers in its crosshairs, publishing a list of 45 vessels it says are failing to comply with the rules it seeks to impose on Hormuz shipping, and warning that vessels violating its protocols will face restrictions on future passages, including \u201cfines, detention, or confiscation.\u201d\n <\/p>\n Expanding the geographic scope of the war<\/p>\n \n Tehran could also target locations farther afield with its missiles.\n <\/p>\n \n On Monday, Iran\u2019s Foreign Ministry pointed to US refueling aircraft leaving Bulgarian territory, <\/a>warning that Tehran could target the European Union nation, which is also a NATO member.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIran has the legitimate right to target the point of origin and source of any act of aggression,\u201d Baghaei told reporters on Monday, adding that Tehran has \u201cmade clear that any action regarded as supporting US and Israeli military aggression against Iran constitutes, under international law, participation in an act of aggression.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Over the course of the war, Iran has struck 11 countries, mostly in the Gulf region. But it is also believed to have attacked a base used by British forces in Cyprus and has apparently demonstrated an ability to reach islands used by American forces deep in the Indian Ocean, hundreds of miles away.\n <\/p>\n \n An attack on a US-allied EU nation and NATO member like Bulgaria would mark a significant escalation.\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cIran will regard any country\u2019s participation in or support for America\u2019s economic war against the Iranian people as an act of war,\u201d Rezaei said.\n <\/p>\n \n Iran has repeatedly maintained that its nuclear program is peaceful and that it does not seek to build a bomb, <\/a>despite claims by Israel and the US that have led to multiple attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.\n <\/p>\n \n Following the US-Israeli killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei \u2013 who had banned nuclear weapons \u2013 the narrative among some official circles in Iran has gradually been shifting toward withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which commits members to never building a bomb.\n <\/p>\n![\"Vessels](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/2026-08-25t104944z-2037553553-rc2j5na5s9kv-rtrmadp-3-iran-crisis-hormuz.jpg\")
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