TEHRAN — The United States has launched what President Donald Trump called the “most crushing economic operation ever” against Iran, threatening sweeping economic consequences for countries, financial institutions and businesses that maintain ties with Tehran, drawing strong denunciation from Iran as a sign of desperation following the failure of Washington’s military pressure campaign.
Trump announced the new measures on Wednesday, warning that any country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports or government entities to provide any “lifeline” to Iran would face “tremendous economic consequences.” He described the campaign as “economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale.”
Iran’s Foreign Ministry condemned the measures as “economic terrorism” and
 “crimes against humanity,” saying Washington’s reliance on sanctions and military pressure represented two sides of the same policy of aggression.
“Economic sanctions and pressure are the other side of the same coin as military war and aggression,” the ministry said, warning that the policy was placing global peace and security at risk.
The ministry said the new sanctions demonstrated the continuation of 73 years of U.S. hostility toward the Iranian people, and condemned their announcement on the anniversary of the 1953 U.S.-backed coup against Iran’s democratically elected government.
“The new U.S. sanctions are not only another indication of the continuation of 73 years of hostility by U.S. policymakers toward the Iranian people, but also demonstrate the anti-human, lawless and hegemonic nature of the U.S. government,” it said.
The ministry further said the sanctions targeted the fundamental rights of Iranian citizens and violated international norms.
“Without a doubt, the U.S. economic sanctions against Iran, which target the fundamental human rights of every Iranian citizen, constitute ‘economic terrorism’ and ‘crimes against humanity,’” it said, adding that those responsible should face prosecution and punishment.
The sharp denunciation came as Tehran rejected Washington’s latest attempt to use economic pressure to force Iran to surrender its national interests, arguing that the new campaign merely repeated failed strategies used by successive U.S. administrations.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the latest American campaign is “bound to fail,” pointing to a succession of increasingly harsh U.S. pressure campaigns against Tehran.
In a post on X on Friday, Araghchi recalled Washington’s descriptions of its previous efforts:
“14 years ago: ‘Most crippling sanctions in history.’ Failed.
8 years ago: ‘Maximum pressure.’ Failed.
5 months ago: ‘Unconditional surrender.’ Failed.
Today: ‘Most crushing economic operation ever.’ Bound to fail.”
“We have seen this movie before. Same bull. Different bullies,” he wrote.
Araghchi had already dismissed Trump’s so-called “Economic D-Day” on Thursday, describing it as an attempt to divert attention from America’s own economic problems.
“The so-called ‘Economic D-Day’ is a diversion from America’s own crisis: unprecedented debt & surging interest costs,” he said.
“Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat—and enmity of Iranians. U.S. economic terrorism threatens global economy and sovereignty worldwide,” he added.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the latest sanctions followed the failure of U.S.-Israeli aggression to force the Iranian people to surrender to what it called “illegal and inhumane ambitions.”
“The policy has already been tried and failed, and testing it again will undoubtedly produce nothing but a repetition of past failures and the disgrace of those who designed and implemented it,” the ministry said.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Kazem Gharibabadi similarly described the latest campaign as another consequence of Washington’s miscalculations.
“They claim that Iran is on the verge of defeat and hanging by a thread, yet they are begging all their allies to help them,” he wrote on X.
“The problem is the miscalculations that, each time, force them to inflict an even greater defeat on themselves in an attempt to cover it up. The military war failed to deliver results; now they have called the next defeat an ‘economic war’,” Gharibabadi added.
The Iranian position has received support from China, which rejected Washington’s call for greater pressure on Tehran and said sanctions would not resolve the crisis.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said sanctions and pressure “will not be useful in solving the Iran issue,” while calling on the parties to act responsibly and pursue a political and diplomatic approach.
The United States has sought to use secondary sanctions to pressure countries and companies that continue commercial relations with Tehran, particularly those involved in Iranian oil.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Washington is preparing what he described as the toughest sanctions yet against Iran, with further details expected Monday.
Former U.S. diplomat Alan Eyre, who played a key role in negotiations leading to the 2015 nuclear agreement, likewise said the latest sanctions appeared to stem from frustration. 
“The tree of sanctions has already been plucked,” he said, arguing that many of Washington’s punitive options had already been exhausted.
Eyre warned that further pressure was more likely to produce counter-escalation than Iranian capitulation, particularly as Tehran views concessions under existential pressure as inviting further demands.
The new sanctions also prompted increasingly critical assessments in major U.S. media, with coverage questioning whether Washington’s renewed reliance on economic pressure can produce the result that earlier sanctions failed to achieve.
The Washington Post reported that Trump has “pivoted back to sanctions” as other strategies for ending the war have failed to produce a breakthrough, while its latest assessment noted that Iran was already deeply familiar with decades of American sanctions.
The Wall Street Journal similarly described Trump’s approach as a return to an old strategy, reporting that the administration is relying on financial sanctions and pressure on Iran’s economic lifelines in the hope of forcing Tehran to change course.
The Post also published an assessment describing the Iran war as a “strategic failure,” while another recent analysis said Trump’s erratic approach is undermining his own threats and negotiations.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the country would continue to defend its national security and interests against US military, economic, political and psychological pressure.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran, relying on its unparalleled national capabilities and taking into account seven decades of comprehensive resistance against U.S. pressure, intervention, military aggression and state terrorism against Iran, will employ all available tools and capacities to counter the U.S.-Israeli enemy’s hostile actions and safeguard Iran’s national interests,” it said.