Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said newly imposed US economic sanctions on Iran amount not only to an illegal economic war against one country but also to a “declaration of war” against all governments. His remarks, reported by Al Jazeera citing Iran’s Fars News Agency, were published on August 22, 2026, after the United States announced fresh economic sanctions against Tehran.

Baghaei said Washington was seeking to establish its jurisdiction over all independent United Nations member states through the sanctions announcement. He described this as an attempt to impose extraterritorial sovereignty. He argued that no government has the right to force foreign banks, institutions or airports operating under another country’s sovereign jurisdiction to avoid lawful trade with a third country.

The spokesperson said such secondary sanctions have no basis in international law and violate the principle of sovereign equality recognized in Article 2, Paragraph 1 of the UN Charter. He called economic coercion an international crime and wrongful act, warning that adding a naval blockade would make other states’ sovereignty dependent on another power’s wishes. Tehran has long described US sanctions as unilateral and contrary to international law.