Attention is turning to Iran's possible responses after the United States announced new sanctions against Tehran, including secondary sanctions on other countries that trade certain goods with Iran. Iran has labeled the U.S. sanctions "economic terrorism" and signaled aggressive retaliation. Experts point to a tighter blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and strikes on energy facilities in the Gulf region as among Iran's options.
According to Reuters on the 24th, Iranian Economy and Finance Minister Seyyed Ali Madanizadeh said shortly after the U.S. sanctions announcement, "We are fully prepared for the U.S. sanctions." He added, "The enemies want to carry out an economic terrorist attack against us, but we too have our own tools and know how to play this game," warning that "our defense will no longer remain merely defensive."
There were also mocking responses dismissing the U.S. measures as mere "bluster." Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the parliamentary speaker who leads Iran's negotiating team, wrote on X that "the Americans also know that no one believes their bluster," arguing that "the United States is not in an economic position to further restrict other countries' foreign transactions."
Iranian media outlet Tasnim News, citing an official from the country's intelligence authorities, assessed the U.S. measures as closer to a public-opinion campaign than to substantive economic sanctions. The official said the move was "an initiative planned by the Trump administration's media team, intended to place psychological pressure on the Iranian people."
Attention is therefore focused on how Iran will actually respond. Unlike before the war, the two countries are now effectively at war, prompting forecasts that Iran could take a more aggressive stance.
The first option mentioned is a tighter blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a key chokepoint for the world's oil shipments. This has been one of the core strategies Iran has used since the war broke out on Feb. 28. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), had earlier threatened that "if the economic war continues, not a single drop of oil will be exported from the Strait of Hormuz or anywhere in the Persian Gulf."
Striking neighboring Gulf countries is also cited as an option. Iran has repeatedly attacked Gulf countries and Jordan during this war, targeting not only U.S. military bases but also energy infrastructure. In particular, if attacks on oil and gas production facilities expand, supply disruptions could become prolonged and international oil prices could surge. Analysts say this could impose a considerable political burden on the Trump administration, which is grappling with high inflation. According to Iran's state-run Press TV, Hossein Mohebbi, a spokesman for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, warned that if Iran's infrastructure is threatened, it would deliver a powerful strike against key U.S. interests and energy chokepoints.
The possibility of cyberwarfare against the West has also been raised. Since late last month, water supply facilities in several U.S. states and a small power plant in the United Kingdom were temporarily paralyzed by cyberattacks, which the West suspects were carried out by Iran-linked groups.
