A top Iranian general on Aug. 21 said Tehran would deliver a devastating response to what he said was a “miscalculation” by the United States amid the Trump administration’s public discussion of new sweeping sanctions targeting the regime.
State-run media IRNA quoted Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi, the chief of staff of Iran’s military, as saying that Iran’s military would deliver “revolutionary, crushing, regret-inducing, and devastating responses,” adding that Iranian forces “maintain comprehensive, smart, and up-to-date readiness across all domains, including land, sea, air, air defense, space, and cyberspace.”
Iran’s readiness would come as a “deterrent power in the face of unjust sanctions” and “hostile actions,” he added.
The threat comes a day after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Trump administration is preparing for new sanctions against Iran, amid a nearly six-month-long conflict that erupted in late February.
‘One-Two Punch’
Speaking to CNBC on Thursday, Bessent said he would “talk about exactly what we’re going to do” against Iran at an upcoming press conference on Aug. 24.
“It is time for our allies and the rest of the world to make a decision,” Bessent said. “We are going to squash the economy of this murderous regime.”
He described a U.S. naval blockade reimposed on Iran in July alongside the “toughest sanctions in history” as a “one-two punch.”
Bessent’s comment served to build upon a Truth Social post written by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week in which the president vowed unprecedented economic warfare against Iran in a bid to isolate Tehran even further.
“This will be an ECONOMIC D-DAY, and we need all of our Allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate, and defeat, the Iran threat,” Trump wrote. “These maniacs are on the ropes, and these HISTORIC MEASURES will cripple them”
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed Trump’s comments in a post on X.
“Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat—and enmity of Iranians,” Araghchi wrote. “US economic terrorism threatens global economy and sovereignty worldwide.”
A heavily damaged bridge that was hit by a U.S. strike along the road connecting Roudan and Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on July 18, 2026. Amir Hossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images
The U.S. military launched strikes against Iran for about two weeks straight in July, prompting Iran to fire on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and launch attacks on American bases and infrastructure in nearby Gulf nations.
The United States and Iran have twice announced ceasefire deals, in April and June, aiming to restore the free flow of ships through the Strait of Hormuz on a path toward ending the nearly six-month-old conflict. Both deals quickly crumbled.
Locals visit the port in Muscat as oil tankers, general cargo ships, bulk carriers, and fishing boats sit anchored in the waters off Muscat near the Strait of Hormuz in Muscat, Oman, on June 18, 2026. Elke Scholiers/Getty Images
Iran has attacked commercial ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway separating the Persian Gulf and the broader ocean. The strait allows for the transportation of around a fifth of the world’s traded oil during peacetime.
Just seven commodity ships sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, half the previous day’s tally, data from ship tracker Kpler showed, compared with more than 130 a day before the war.
Trump this week also threatened to bomb nearby Oman if the country “gets in the way” by engaging in talks with Iran to reopen the strait.
Reuters contributed to this report.
