Iran’s newly designated chief of its highest security body warned on Sunday that Tehran will treat any foreign assistance toward forthcoming U.S. economic penalties as an “act of war,” even as the nation’s president maintained that a provisional agreement with Washington remains the most viable solution to break the diplomatic stalemate.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is scheduled to announce new financial measures on Monday, marking the latest escalation in Washington’s declared campaign of extreme economic pressure against the long-sanctioned nation. Simultaneously, Pakistan’s military chief is set to visit Tehran as regional brokers endeavor to revive stalled negotiations.
In the Strait of Hormuz, maritime hostilities have temporarily slowed, though posturing remains high.
A newly established Iranian authority published a blacklist of dozens of vessels subject to future navigation restrictions through the waterway, which had functioned as an international passage until U.S. and Israeli forces launched strikes on Iran on February 28.
Hard-line Shift in Tehran
Mohsen Rezaei, the hard-line figure heading Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, broadcast his latest warnings via social media and state networks following his most explicit comments since taking office.
“If (Trump) wants to do something, we will retaliate in a seismic manner,” Rezaei told state broadcasters, asserting that Iran would target alternative Persian Gulf oil transit routes bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
Rezaei—a former Revolutionary Guard commander and military adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei—is part of a broader wave of security appointments shifting Tehran toward a more aggressive stance.
Concurrently, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian defended the mid-June memorandum of understanding, arguing it offers the best pathway out of a destructive state of “neither war nor peace” nearly six months into the conflict.
“There is not a single provision in this agreement that amounts to capitulation,” Pezeshkian declared via the state-run IRNA agency. “The supreme leader sets the policies, and we will follow that path.”
The provisional agreement established a 60-day negotiation window to halt hostilities and address Iran’s nuclear program. That timeframe elapsed last week without an extension or formal breakthrough.
Maritime Stand-off
A U.S. Navy-led multinational coalition reported no confirmed maritime attacks in the Strait of Hormuz over a 48-hour period, though commercial shipping traffic remains subdued. U.S. forces noted that their naval blockade of Iranian ports has diverted 70 merchant ships and disabled three.
Concurrently, Iran’s newly created Persian Gulf Strait Authority—already under U.S. sanctions—issued a list of vessels accused of violating transit rules, threatening fines or impoundment.
Iran and neighboring Oman are currently in discussions regarding joint management of the strait, a framework expected to introduce mandatory transit fees for commercial shipping.