DUBAI, Aug 21 - Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf said on Friday that the country must make concrete plans to withstand and ultimately overcome what he described as "unjust sanctions." His remarks came a day after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington was imposing what he called the toughest sanctions ever on Iran, and that the measures would be outlined on Monday.
Qalibaf, who is one of Iran's most influential political figures and serves as Tehran's lead negotiator in talks with the United States, tied economic development closely to national security in his address to business leaders.
Addressing a gathering of Iranian and Iraqi business representatives in Baghdad, and according to a post on his Telegram channel, Qalibaf accused the United States and Israel of resorting to economic and "cognitive" forms of warfare after concluding they could not prevail in a direct military confrontation with Iran and Iraq.
He said: "If you look at the resources and raw materials of Muslim countries, you will realize that our enemies come to plunder them." He added: "Therefore, we must make plans to deal with the unjust sanctions so that we can overcome them."
In the same session Qalibaf urged deeper economic ties between Baghdad and Tehran. He proposed that the two countries could conduct more trade using their respective national currencies, with the goal of reducing reliance on the U.S. dollar for bilateral transactions.
The announcement by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday described the sanctions as the toughest yet imposed on Iran and indicated that the detailed package would be published on Monday. Bessent also said the measures could lessen the need for further major military operations, a point he made when outlining Washington's approach.
Qalibaf's comments emphasize the Iranian leadership's view that economic measures imposed from abroad are part of a broader strategy aimed at weakening Iran and other regional states through non-military means. His call for planning to manage and overcome sanctions, and for closer economic coordination with Iraq including possible currency arrangements, reflects a policy focus on economic resilience amid heightened external pressure.
The public remarks, made in Baghdad and reported via Qalibaf's Telegram channel, underscore the interplay Tehran sees between sanctions, trade policy and national security, and signal Tehran's intent to pursue mechanisms intended to shield economic activity from external financial constraints.