Iran lashes out at US sanctions amid economic toll at home

Iran condemned the US’s new economic sanctions on Friday as “state terrorism”, while its supreme leader said he was banning acts that could harm “social cohesion” amid concern that more financial pain could spark unrest at home.

With the war now at the six-month mark and negotiations at an impasse, President Donald Trump’s administration has stepped up efforts to punish Iran financially with what it has billed as an “economic D-Day”.

The sanctions drive compounds the toll of the war on Iran’s economy, where annual inflation hit 66% last month. Meanwhile, the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz — which handled a fifth of world oil supplies before the war — remains the conflict’s biggest unresolved flashpoint.

Washington has warned countries to cut their business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions, though the Treasury department stopped short of actually imposing penalties.

Iran’s foreign ministry said on Friday that all countries were obligated under international law to refrain from implementing US sanctions against Tehran. It branded the new US measures a “crime against humanity” that put the health and livelihood of millions of civilians at serious risk.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who was injured and has not been seen publicly since the February 28 attack that killed his father, said in a written statement on Friday that he had banned officials from “committing anything that harms social cohesion”.

Within a leadership of clerical, military and civilian branches, Khamenei urged authorities to avoid any “discouraging statements that weaken national and public motivation”, amid concern that more financial pressure on its war-battered economy could trigger street protests.

Khamenei called on the government to tackle the economic hardship that has been worsened by the war.

“There is the need to seriously address the chain of economic and livelihood challenges, such as inflation, unemployment, management of prices and the market for goods and services,” Khamenei said in his statement.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told state media that foreign trade had shrunk by nearly 35% because of US sanctions and a naval blockade of Iranian ports.