U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday what he called unprecedented "economic warfare" against Iran and pledged isolation as well as "consequences" for any country that gives it a "lifeline" amid stalled negotiations with Tehran.
"No one has given the Islamic Republic of Iran a greater opportunity to make a Deal than me," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding that Tehran had "failed to take it."
"Therefore, today, I am announcing the MOST CRUSHING ECONOMIC OPERATION EVER TAKEN AGAINST ANY COUNTRY!" Trump wrote.
"This will be Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale," he added.
Any country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports or government entities to provide "any type of lifeline to Iran" would itself face "TREMENDOUS Economic Consequences," Trump wrote.
Trump said the U.S. needed the support of all its allies to isolate Iran and counter the threat posed by Tehran.
Iranian media, meanwhile, appeared unfazed by Trump's threat, saying the U.S. president had repeatedly spoken in the past of Iran's supposedly imminent collapse and of measures of historic proportions.
His latest claims should be seen merely as the usual "psychological warfare and propaganda campaign," the Iranian news agency Fars wrote on Telegram.
Iranian news agency Tasnim said the announcement was "not a new development, as the United States has been trying for years to block any financial and economic ties with Iran."
Iran, however, had "learned how to circumvent these restrictions and has become very skilled at doing so," Tasnim wrote on Telegram.
Around two and a half months before crucial U.S. midterm elections, Trump is under considerable domestic pressure, not least because he has been unable to point to any obvious successes in his war against Iran in recent weeks.
There appears to have been little progress either diplomatically or militarily.
Tehran has also remained unmoved by Trump's repeated threats in negotiations over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, which commercial vessels were able to pass through unhindered before the war.
Trump has repeatedly stepped up his threats against the leadership of the Islamic Republic, and once again used stark language.
He spoke of "HISTORIC MEASURES" and compared his plan, laden with superlatives, to an "ECONOMIC D-DAY" for Iran.
D-Day on June 6, 1944, when Allied troops landed in Normandy, marked the beginning of the liberation of France and Western Europe from Nazi rule during World War II.
The U.S. has long imposed sanctions on Iran, and Trump now appears intent on expanding them further. "Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, exchange houses, ship registries, front companies – It all needs to stop NOW," Trump wrote.
It initially remained unclear, however, how exactly the U.S. president intended to force Tehran to change course or what consequences would face countries that support Iran.
The warning could particularly affect countries such as Russia, India or China, which continue to buy Iranian oil. Oil exports are a key source of revenue for Tehran.
Trump said on Tuesday that Washington and Tehran were not currently holding negotiations following the expiry of a 60-day deadline for the two sides to reach a final peace agreement.
"There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The statement came a day after Trump told Fox News that U.S. government representatives were in direct contact with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Trump has repeatedly made claims about alleged talks or the status of negotiations with Iran that Tehran has subsequently denied.
The 60-day deadline, set out in a preliminary agreement reached in June, expired on Monday without a final peace deal. The two sides remain at odds over several issues, including Iran's nuclear program.
The U.S. has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian shipping and ports, while Tehran has attacked commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway between Iran and Oman through which about one-fifth of the world's oil used to pass before the war erupted.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military has established a shipping corridor for vessels entering and leaving the Strait of Hormuz to facilitate the transport of several million barrels of oil per day, Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials.
Some 15 to 20 tankers have been using a southern route along Oman's coast each night for several weeks, Axios reported.
About 10 million barrels of oil are reaching global energy markets each day through the route, roughly half the volume that passed through the strait before the war, according to the report.
