Iran dismisses U.S. economic threats

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Thursday rejected the economic threats made by U.S. President Donald Trump against his country, saying that such “failed policies” will stir more hostility among Iranians and “bring more failures.”

Araghchi’s comments came a few hours after Trump threatened “crushing economic measures” against Iran. Trump promised “Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale,” but provided few details.

In a social media post, Araghchi maintained the threats aim to divert the attention of the U.S. public from domestic financial problems, adding that the U.S. “economic terrorism threatens the global economy and the national sovereignty of countries around the world.”

Meanwhile on Thursday, an Omani official said that ensuring safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz is “inseparable from the security and prosperity of the wider region.”

Speaking at a press briefing alongside his Japanese counterpart, Omani Foreign Minister Badr al‑Busaidi said lasting security in the strait requires “lasting peace in the region,” which can only be achieved through restraint and sustained diplomacy.

Earlier in the week, Iran announced it had reached an understanding with Oman on a framework for ship transit through the strait, which runs between the two countries, and that both sides are working to finalize the details for a joint statement.

Shipping has been disrupted, and the strait has been virtually closed since the Iran war started on Feb. 28. Before the war, which began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed through the waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.