Can Iran retaliate against countries that join US ‘economic war’?

What the report says

Iran has warned that countries joining what Tehran calls the United States’ “economic war” could face retaliation, according to Al Jazeera’s reporting on comments by Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. Rezaei said on state television that Iran was urging other countries, including regional neighbours, not to cooperate with US economic restrictions and suggested that any state doing so would be treated as an enemy. He also warned that Iran could respond strongly if pressure continued.

The warning came as tensions with Washington remained high and the US prepared to announce additional sanctions. Al Jazeera reported that US President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had signalled more economic pressure on Iran, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian described the situation as a broad economic, military and security conflict. The article said diplomatic efforts to end the war had stalled and that shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had fallen sharply.

Rezaei outlined a possible three-step response: first try talks with countries seen as cooperating with the US, then move to strikes on their interests if they do not back down. The report noted that any threat to alternative export routes beyond Hormuz could affect Gulf shipping, including routes linked to the Red Sea. Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera said the message appeared intended to deter further escalation and pressure Gulf states, which remain caught between US policy and their proximity to Iran.