Countries joining the US economic campaign against Tehran will be treated as enemies, Iran warned on Saturday.
“We declare to all countries ... do not join the economic war waged by the United States. Any country participating in the imposition of economic restrictions against us is considered an enemy,” Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told state television.
The warning came after President Donald Trump threatened economic penalties against countries that support or do business with Iran, with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stating that Washington was preparing the “toughest sanctions in history” on Tehran.
The warning also came as Iran’s confrontation with Western governments played out in cyberspace, with a report indicating that Iran-linked hackers had disrupted a British power facility.
The small power plant was taken offline for four days in July in what is believed to be the first cyberattack to shut down a U.K. power-generation facility, The Daily Telegraph reported on Saturday.
The British government confirmed that a cyber incident had affected a small-scale energy generator but did not publicly link it to Iran. Officials said the facility was not considered critical infrastructure and that the attack posed no risk to Britain’s wider energy system.
The incident came as suspected Iranian hackers stepped up attacks on Western infrastructure, including a series of breaches targeting wastewater systems across 12 U.S. states last month.
Tensions also remained centered on the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump on Sunday posted a graphic labeling the Strait of Hormuz “New U.S. Territory,” five days after posting the same image on Truth Social.
Trump previously said the United States had “total control” over the strategic waterway and suggested he would declare it U.S. territory after defeating Iran.
Iran is fighting a “full-scale economic, military and security war,” but remains steadfast in its defiance, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Sunday.
Speaking at a ceremony pledging loyalty to the ideals of Islamic Republic founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, Pezeshkian said, “The enemies imagined that with their pressure and actions Iran would collapse. Not only did this not happen, but the power and unity of the Iranian nation amazed the world,” according to the government-sponsored Mehr News Agency.
He went on to acknowledge hardships, saying that Tehran was “ashamed” by the existing problems, but added that the Iranian people will pass through these crises “with strength.”
