Iran says Trump's threats to punish countries trading with Tehran violate sovereignty and international law
Tehran says U.S. threats to punish partners of Iran undermine sovereignty and violate the UN Charter.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman warned that President Donald Trump's threats to punish countries that continue to deal with Tehran would amount to a violation of international law, and accused Washington of attempting to coerce third states into abandoning lawful trade with Iran.
“Economic pressure intended to force a sovereign state to change its legitimate political decisions is contrary to international law,” Baghaei wrote on the platform X, responding to U.S. threats to step up sanctions.
Tehran calls secondary sanctions illegal
Baghaei argued that so-called "secondary sanctions" — measures aimed at third countries and companies that maintain ties with Iran — breach the United Nations Charter and the rules that underpin state sovereignty.
He also warned that combining economic measures with an American naval blockade of Iranian ports would strip other countries of meaningful sovereignty. “In combination with an American naval blockade of Iranian ports, Trump's plan would reduce the sovereignty of other countries to something 'temporary, conditional and revocable at the whim of another power,'” Baghaei said.
“The end result would be the complete erosion of sovereignty as the foundational basis of the UN-based interstate system and a recipe for a full return to classic colonialism in the world,” he added, framing Tehran's reaction as both a legal and moral objection to Washington's strategy.
Photo: press material from the event
