Iran warned it would respond harshly to expanded U.S. sanctions set to be announced Monday, as Washington again reached for economic punishment and Tehran answered with its own threats of escalation. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said, “Any escalation of this situation will undoubtedly bring about consequences,” and added, “Our hands are not tied.” The new head of Iran’s top security body went further Sunday, warning that Tehran would see any country’s support for the sanctions as an “act of war.”
Who Holds the Levers
The sanctions threat landed after weeks of impasse, with the United States still unable to dislodge Iran’s grip on the Strait of Hormuz. Before the war started nearly six months ago, a fifth of the world’s traded oil passed through that waterway. That’s the choke point. That’s where states and their militaries turn a shipping lane into a pressure valve for everyone else’s survival.
Iran has demanded that the U.S. lift its naval blockade, withdraw U.S. forces from the region and provide reparations for war damage before the waterway is reopened. It has also held separate talks with Oman on jointly managing the strait whether or not a new deal is reached with Washington. The language is all statecraft and coercion, but the people who pay are the ones living under blockade, war damage and the economic squeeze that follows.
Ahead of the expected U.S. announcement, Iran’s currency hit a record low on Monday. That’s the immediate cost of this standoff for ordinary people, while the officials and security chiefs trade warnings from behind their walls. The machinery of sanctions doesn’t just target governments. It crushes wages, savings and daily life.
The Pressure Spreads
China also warned that sanctions and additional pressure “will not help resolve the issue,” with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian saying, “They will only exacerbate tensions and escalate the situation, which is in no one’s interest.” He called on all parties to avoid measures “that could further intensify differences and conflicts and disrupt global economic development and financial stability.” China is considered the biggest buyer of Iranian oil and was importing more than 80% of Iranian oil before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
That’s the global chain of command in plain sight: sanctions, oil flows, military force and financial stability all managed from above, while everyone else is told to absorb the shock. The language of “stability” usually means stability for the powerful, not for the people who get priced out, bombed, blockaded or sanctioned.
The broader Middle East coverage also said Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani met over the weekend with a high-level Israeli delegation in Jordan in U.S.-mediated discussions focused on restarting negotiations for a future security agreement after Israel struck the Abu Duhur air base in Idlib province. Syrian officials said they had the right to develop an army and freely forge alliances with any country, and they called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from a buffer zone in southern Syria occupied since December 2024. They also reiterated Syria’s position that the Golan Heights, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war and later annexed, is Syrian territory. Israeli officials did not immediately comment.
What People Live With
The same coverage said a crude oil tanker was struck by an unknown projectile Monday off Saudi Arabia, 63 nautical miles west of the Red Sea city of Yanbu, and a fire was ignited on the main deck. The British military said there were no reports of casualties. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization said the attack occurred in that area. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have attacked Saudi tankers in recent weeks but did not claim the attack.
Israel’s military said it killed a militant affiliated with Hamas’ special forces unit in an overnight airstrike, and said it targets and kills Palestinian militants it says participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the war. Israel has announced targeted strikes on six of the seven days since U.S. negotiator Jared Kushner’s meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. At least 1,288 Palestinians have been killed since the ceasefire took effect last October, according to Gaza’s health ministry, part of the Hamas-run government.
The violence doesn’t stay in the air or at sea. It lands on homes, on neighborhoods, on people trying to move through occupied land without being trapped by soldiers, settlers or the next round of official “security” measures.
The coverage also said Loui Ridi, a Palestinian American homeowner, remained unable to move freely in the village of Qusra in the occupied West Bank after his residence was besieged this month by Israeli settlers. Ridi traveled from Ohio to join relatives defending his home a week ago. The Israeli military declared the area a closed zone to restore order, and Ridi said settlers returned throughout the week to the hill above his house. Since settlers surrounded the house more than two weeks ago, preventing occupants from leaving, Israeli soldiers have encouraged them to leave but Israel’s police have not announced arrests. The siege and Israel’s response drew condemnation from Israeli rights groups and foreign officials, including U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, who called the violence terrorism. Palestinians consider the West Bank, home to some 3 million Palestinians and 560,000 Israeli settlers, the heart of any future state and have condemned Israel’s expansion there. This year has seen a dramatic spike in violence carried out by Israeli settlers against Palestinians.