Iran says new US sanctions violate sovereignty of other states

Iran on Saturday condemned new US economic sanctions against Tehran, arguing that Washington's use of secondary sanctions violates the sovereignty of other countries and international law.

"The United States' declaration of new economic sanctions on Iran is far more than continued unlawful 'economic warfare' against a single country," Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on US social media company X.

"It is an assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent Member State of the United Nations," he added.

Baghaei argued that no country can lawfully force foreign banks, companies or airports under the jurisdiction of other sovereign states to stop lawful trade with a third country.

He said secondary sanctions have "no foundation in international law," arguing that they violate the principle of sovereign equality under Article 2(1) of the UN Charter and the customary prohibition on intervention affirmed by the International Court of Justice in the Nicaragua case.

Baghaei also linked the sanctions to a US naval blockade, saying the combination reduces the sovereignty of other states to something "provisional, conditional, and revocable at the whim of another power."

He warned that such measures could ultimately erode sovereignty as a foundation of the UN-based international system and lead to what he called a return to "full-scale classic colonialism."

On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to launch "the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country," describing his maximum-pressure campaign against Iran as "Economic Warfare and Isolation on an unprecedented scale."

He vowed to cut financial channels supporting Tehran, warning that countries providing Iran with an economic "lifeline" through financial institutions, businesses, airports or government entities would face severe economic consequences.

Calling the campaign an "Economic D-Day," Trump urged US allies to join the effort to financially isolate Tehran.