Iran's warning to countries backing US sanctions: Join economic restrictions and become an 'enemy’

Iran has issued a stark warning to countries weighing support for Washington's latest economic offensive, saying any government that joins the US campaign against Tehran will be treated as an enemy.

'We declare to all countries... do not join the economic war waged by the United States,' Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on state television on Saturday.

Rezaei warned that countries participating in economic restrictions against Iran would be considered hostile.

He also delivered a pointed message to Washington, saying that if US President Donald Trump 'takes action', Iran's response would be 'like an earthquake'.

The warning comes as the war approaches its six-month mark and tensions between Tehran and Washington remain sharply elevated. Trump earlier this week announced what he described as the 'most crushing economic operation' against Iran, as the US seeks to intensify pressure on the Iranian economy.

Washington is now pushing other governments to join its campaign. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to hold a press conference at 2 p.m. EDT, or 1800 GMT, on Monday to provide further details of the measures.

Bessent has framed the effort in uncompromising terms, saying it would amount to 'the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world'.

He added that countries would be told they were 'either with us or against us'.

The US push, however, has already encountered resistance from China, one of Iran's key strategic partners.

Beijing criticised the campaign on Friday, with Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian saying sanctions and pressure would not help resolve the crisis. China instead called for responsible action and a political and diplomatic solution.

The United Arab Emirates, meanwhile, has taken a sharply different position.

The UAE, a major trading partner for sanctioned Iran, announced on Wednesday that it was cutting all financial and economic ties with Tehran until further notice.

Abu Dhabi said the decision followed 'escalations that undermine peace and security in the region'.

The confrontation comes after nearly six months of war following US and Israeli airstrikes against Iran on February 28.

With talks between Washington and Tehran still on hold, economic pressure is emerging as a major front in the conflict.

Iran has endured almost 50 years of near-continuous economic sanctions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The latest US campaign now threatens to deepen that pressure, while Tehran's warning signals that it could view international participation in the sanctions drive as an escalation in the conflict itself.