Updated

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled an expanded sanctions push against Iran, dubbed an 'economic D-Day,' warning countries they must cut ties with Tehran or face US penalties themselves. Iran responded that it is 'fully prepared' to counter the widened sanctions, while pointing to the limited economic ties some named countries have with Tehran as evidence the campaign is more symbolic than substantive. Iran's foreign ministry escalated its rhetorical pushback, with spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei mocking the US plan as 'pure parody' in a post on X. Baqaei singled out Washington's outreach to Bahrain, a country he said has 'virtually no meaningful economic exchange with Iran,' arguing the US was using it to falsely project the strength of its sanctions coalition.