Iran has strongly condemned plans by the United States to impose sweeping new sanctions, accusing Washington of escalating what Tehran describes as an unlawful campaign of “economic warfare.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Saturday that the proposed measures went beyond targeting Iran and amounted to an attempt by the United States to impose its authority on other countries.

“The United States’ declaration of new economic sanctions on Iran is far more than continued unlawful ‘economic warfare’ against a single country,” Baqaei said in a social media post.

His comments followed remarks from U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who said the Trump administration was preparing a major campaign aimed at economically isolating Iran.

Bessent told newsmen on Thursday that intensified economic pressure could reduce the need for large-scale U.S. military operations against Tehran.

He pledged that Washington would seek to create what he called “the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world” against Iran.

The Treasury secretary said further details of the strategy would be announced at a news conference on Monday.

Bessent also indicated that Washington would pressure its international partners to support the measures, saying the administration’s message to U.S. allies would be: “You are either with us or against us.”

The latest exchange signals a further escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran, with the Trump administration increasingly emphasizing economic pressure alongside its military campaign against Iran.