Top Iran official says US focus on economic warfare shows it has failed militarily

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf speaks during a 40-day commemoration ceremony for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the Imam Hassan Mosque in Karbala, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. Hadi Mizban/AP hide caption

The Iranian regime has dismissed President Trump's threats to crush the country economically, saying that years of U.S. sanctions have failed.

On Friday, Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, the country's main ⁠negotiator with the U.S., said Trump's threat of an "economic D-Day" showed Washington was unable to prevail militarily.

"The Americans and the Israelis have realised that they cannot handle Iran…in the field of a hard military war, so they have entered into a cognitive war and an economic war," he said during a visit to neighboring Iraq.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had also condemned Trump's announced pivot to economic warfare, calling it 'economic terrorism' meant to divert attention from U.S.'s economic problems. He said in a social media post that doubling down on failed U.S. policies would further increase anti-American sentiment.

Earlier this week, Trump wrote on Truth Social promising "the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country" and calling on allies to stand with the U.S.

His remarks come with diplomatic efforts to revive peace talks completely stalled, days after a 60-day memorandum of understanding to negotiate an end to the war expired.

A U.S. blockade is still in place and Iran is still heavily restricting traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil waterway.