A tugboat positions the oil tanker American Freedom in the port of Los Angeles, on the Pacific Ocean, in California, on Aug. 19, 2026. (Credit: Patrick T. Fallon / AFP)
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has called on his compatriots to ‘’accept’’ the impact of international sanctions on the country’s economy, following the United States’ announcement of tighter sanctions.
’’Some people say that sanctions have no effect ; to those people, I truly do not know what to say,’’ Pezeshkian said on state television in an interview broadcast Friday night. ‘’We are in a state of war, and we must accept these wartime conditions.’’
Seen as a moderate within Iran’s leadership, Pezeshkian acknowledged last week that his country is facing ‘’many economic difficulties,’’ even as Tehran maintains that the United States will gain ‘’nothing’’ from its economic pressure.
On Monday, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a new round of so-called ‘’secondary’’ sanctions. The measures target not Iran directly, which has already been subject to decades of international sanctions, but its trading partners, with restrictions covering gold, technology, digital assets, aviation and maritime transport.
Washington says the measures are intended to ‘’economically suffocate’’ Iran as the war in the Middle East, triggered by Israeli-American strikes against Tehran on Feb. 28, drags on. Exports and imports ‘’have dropped by 25 to 35 percent,’’ Pezeshkian said, adding that gasoline prices will eventually rise ‘’one way or another.’’
Iran, a major oil producer, heavily subsidizes gasoline and uses consumption-based quotas, making any change in prices politically sensitive.
On Wednesday, Iranian Vice President Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah said the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports, imposed in response to Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, had prevented the country from importing enough gasoline to make up for ‘’insufficient’’ domestic production.
China, one of the countries targeted by the new U.S. sanctions and a key economic partner of Tehran, has nevertheless said it will ‘’firmly’’ defend its interests and cooperation with Iran.
’’Getting diplomacy back on track is not impossible. It depends on whether the United States understands a simple fact: Pressure does not work,’’ Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday.
