US is "not in a position" to limit economic relations, Iran’s top negotiator says

• Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Washington lacks the economic leverage to further restrict Iran’s relations with other countries.
• An Iranian intelligence source, cited by Tasnim, claimed the latest US measures were primarily designed to create psychological pressure rather than impose significant new restrictions.

Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has dismissed threats by the United States to impose new sanctions on countries maintaining economic ties with Iran, arguing that Washington is not in a position to further restrict Tehran’s international relations.

"The Americans know that no one believes their bluster. Economically, the United States is not in a position to further restrict its relations with other countries," Ghalibaf said.

In a post on X, Ghalibaf said Iran’s trading partners had conveyed that they were not concerned about the latest US threats.

"Iran’s trading partners have stated, both publicly in the media and in messages sent to us, that they attach no importance to these remarks," he wrote.

Ghalibaf’s comments came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that countries and entities maintaining economic ties with Iran could face tougher US sanctions and restrictions on access to the dollar-based financial system.

Washington has been expanding its economic pressure campaign against Tehran, targeting financial networks and sectors that it says support Iran’s economy.

Iran has repeatedly rejected the sanctions campaign, arguing that US pressure will not force Tehran to abandon its economic and foreign-policy ties.

Meanwhile, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency quoted an unnamed senior Iranian intelligence source as saying that the latest US measures were aimed primarily at influencing public opinion rather than imposing meaningful new restrictions.

The source claimed the measures were "based solely on the design of Trump’s media team" and intended to increase "psychological pressure on the people of Iran."

The source was not named, and the claims could not be independently verified.

The exchange comes as Washington seeks to increase economic pressure on Iran while Tehran attempts to maintain trade relations with partners despite the threat of secondary sanctions.