US and Iran trade warnings ahead of new sanctions

The United States and Iran have exchanged warnings ahead of new American sanctions set to be announced on Monday. The sanctions could affect not only Iran but also its major trading partners, including China, which buys more than 80 percent of Iran's shipped oil, according to data from analytics firm Kpler.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said the new sanctions amounted to a "declaration of war" on all countries and went beyond an "illegal economic war against a single nation". Baghaei stated that the sanctions had no basis in international law and violated the principle of sovereign equality enshrined in the UN Charter.

The US Treasury Secretary will hold a press conference on Monday to reveal the sanctions, which have been described as the toughest in history. The two countries are not currently exchanging fire but are not pursuing peace talks either. Oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz have virtually halted as Tehran threatens to strike unauthorized oil tankers.

Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Times, Middle East Eye, The Jakarta Post — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.