이란, 미 ‘경제 고립 작전’에 맞대응…“2년치 경제 계획 짜놓아”

Iran maintained a firm stance against the US's "economic isolation operation," announced by Scott Bennett, the US Treasury Secretary, on the 24th. Iranian Economic Minister Seyyed Ali Madani stated that the government had already prepared a two-year economic plan and that the sanctions response plan was prepared beforehand, being adequately prepared for new sanctions.

He highlighted that while the steel and petrochemical industries had suffered significant damage from war, efforts were underway to normalize the situation and initiate reconstruction. Madani emphasized that the effectiveness of US sanctions is limited, citing a drop in monthly inflation rates to half of the anticipated level in central bank reports.

He also mentioned that over 90% of tax obligations were met last year, with a program supporting approximately 60,000 jobless individuals through a $80 trillion credit fund. Iran's leadership dismissed the validity of US sanctions, with Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stating that the US lacks economic power to further limit relations with other countries.

Foreign Minister Karim Gariyabadi sarcastically dismissed the US's "largest scale financial attack" as historically unprecedented. Foreign Relations Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei warned that if the situation worsens, there will be consequences, emphasizing that their hands are not tied. Supreme National Security Council Chief Moson Reza announced that any country supporting the US's unilateral sanctions will be considered as committing an act of war.

In response to the US's threat of a unilateral blockade, Iran's Persian Gulf Cooperation Council announced that 45 ships, including the third-largest Korean ship-operating company Sinokor, were blacklisted, subject to fines, seizure, and cargo seizure.