Iran vowed a “devastating” military response Friday as the United States enters a new phase of economic warfare against Tehran, with the Trump administration preparing the “toughest sanctions in history” as part of an escalating campaign Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says will “collapse” the Iranian regime. President Donald Trump made clear Friday that Washington’s shift toward economic pressure does not take further military action off the table, while again pointing to Iran’s battered armed forces, economic deterioration, and the U.S. blockade around the Strait of Hormuz as evidence of the mounting pressure on Tehran.
“No, not at all,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews when asked whether the turn toward economic warfare meant U.S. military options against Iran had become limited. “It just means that we’re seeing what happens,” Trump said. “They have no money. They have no navy. They have no air force. They’re not paying their soldiers. They’re not paying their police. They have 350% inflation.”
Trump also said the United States has “total control” around the Strait of Hormuz through its blockade, extending, he said, “well into” the surrounding land areas. “They would love to make a deal, but they’re not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion,” he said. The latest warning from Tehran came from Armed Forces Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, who said Friday that Iran is prepared to retaliate across virtually every military domain in the event of what he called another enemy “miscalculation” or threat.
Trump also said the United States has “total control” around the Strait of Hormuz through its blockade, extending, he said, “well into” the surrounding land areas. “They would love to make a deal, but they’re not ready to make the right deal, in my opinion,” he said. The latest warning from Tehran came from Armed Forces Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, who said Friday that Iran is prepared to retaliate across virtually every military domain in the event of what he called another enemy “miscalculation” or threat.
With comprehensive, intelligent and up-to-date readiness in all areas — ground, naval, air, air defense, space and cyber — [Iran’s armed forces] will confront any miscalculation and conventional or modern threats by the enemies with revolutionary, forceful, regret-inducing and devastating responses,” Abdollahi said in a message marking Iran’s Defense Industry Day. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian issued his own warning Friday even as he argued that the conflict should be brought to an end while Tehran remains, in his telling, in a “position of power and dignity.” “We will under no circumstances bow to bullying, and there is no doubt about that,” Pezeshkian said. “We will stand against them until our last breath and give them a crushing response.” (Read More)
