Geopolitics · Sunday, 23 August 2026
Trump vows harshest-ever economic campaign against Iran; Tehran calls it a repeat of failed pressure
President Donald Trump said his administration was preparing what he called the harshest economic campaign ever launched against a country, targeting Iran, with details due 24 August. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the threat as a rerun of past US pressure campaigns that all failed, and said it was a diversion from America's own debt and interest costs. China, Iran's largest trading partner, said it opposed sanctions with no UN Security Council authorisation.