Iran’s newly appointed head of the Supreme National Security Council, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, has issued a sharp warning to neighboring Gulf nations, stating that any country assisting the United States in its economic campaign against Tehran will be classified as an "enemy" and face direct retaliation. In his first televised broadcast since taking office, the veteran commander declared that Iran would target the interests of regional states that join what Washington has termed an unprecedented campaign of economic isolation.
Rezaei's remarks come as US President Donald Trump vowed to roll out the "most crushing economic operation ever" against Iran following weeks of heightened military and maritime friction. Pushing back against Washington’s tactics, Rezaei warned that if neighboring countries assist in the economic blockade, Iran will escalate its maritime response, cautioning that "not a single drop of oil" will be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz or the wider Persian Gulf. He added that the critical Strait of Hormuz will remain closed to oil transit until Washington honors its prior commitments, firmly stating that the United States must act first.
The escalation signals a significant hardening of Iran's national security posture under Rezaei, a former Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who took over the top security council role earlier this month. While asserting that Tehran has decades of experience bypassing Western economic restrictions, the Iranian security chief cautioned Washington against sending additional military personnel to the region, threatening "seismic" counter-strikes if foreign forces expand their presence.
