Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, has sharply criticized the latest round of US economic sanctions, arguing that the measures represent an illegal extension of unilateral pressure tactics rather than a simple continuation of targeted actions.

In a social media post, Baghaei asserted that the new sanctions go far beyond an ongoing "economic war" against a single country, instead claiming extraterritorial jurisdiction over all independent member states of the United Nations. He emphasized that no nation holds the legal right to coerce foreign banks, corporations, or airports—which fall under another state's exclusive sovereignty—into severing legitimate trade ties with a third country.

According to Baghaei, such secondary sanctions have no basis in international law. They violate the principle of sovereign equality enshrined in Article 2(1) of the UN Charter and contravene the customary international law prohibition on intervention in internal affairs, as confirmed by the International Court of Justice in the Nicaragua case. Using economic coercion to force a sovereign state to alter its lawful policy choices constitutes a clear internationally wrongful act.

When compounded by maritime blockades that amount to military aggression, these demands reduce the sovereignty of all other nations to a temporary, conditional status—revocable at the whim of another major power, the spokesman warned. Even submission would not secure exemption or respect; it would merely signal that a country's banks, enterprises, and airports can only operate with foreign permission.

Baghaei concluded that the ultimate outcome would be the complete erosion of sovereignty—the foundation of the UN-based interstate system—potentially regressing the world into a dire state reminiscent of full-scale traditional colonialism.