TEHRAN, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei on Saturday criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's planned new economic pressure campaign against Tehran, saying Washington was seeking to force other countries to comply with U.S. sanctions.
Trump said Wednesday that the United States would launch what he called "the most crushing economic operation ever taken" against Iran, threatening consequences for countries, companies and financial institutions that continue to provide Tehran with an economic lifeline.
He described the campaign as "Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale" and an "ECONOMIC D-DAY."
Baghaei said on X that such secondary sanctions amounted to an assertion of U.S. "extraterritorial sovereignty" over other countries.
He argued that Washington had no right to compel foreign banks, companies or other entities to halt lawful trade with Iran, saying such measures violated the principle of sovereign equality under the UN Charter.
Separately, Ebrahim Azizi, chairman of the Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, said Friday that Washington had shown it "does not understand the language of diplomacy."
The latest tensions come after a 60-day window for the United States and Iran to negotiate a final agreement expired Monday without a deal. The two sides signed an interim memorandum in June aimed at ending hostilities and paving the way for broader negotiations. ■
