Iran said the US “Operation Economic Outcast” campaign against Tehran violates international law, describing the latest sanctions drive as “economic terrorism.”

In a statement, the Iranian foreign ministry accused Washington of using the US dollar as a tool to pressure other countries into aligning with its policies towards Tehran, saying such actions violate national sovereignty and international law.

The ministry described the operation as “US state terrorism against Iran and the world.”

It said Operation Economic Outcast reflected an intention to inflict suffering on the Iranian people and deprive them of fundamental human rights, describing the campaign as an “international crime” and a “crime against humanity.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says a return to diplomacy with Washington depends on the US recognising that pressure does not work and taking steps to rebuild trust.

Five commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, down from 17 a day earlier and below the 10-day average of 15, preliminary shipping data showed.

Among the five vessels that transited were two medium-range tankers and one very large gas carrier, initial data from shiptracker Kpler showed at 0225 GMT.

The figures could change as some ships typically switch off transponders during the voyage.

The US military's Central Command has said that internationally recognised shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz are open after American forces cleared sea mines from the waterway.

"We have successfully cleared sea mines in the Strait's international shipping lanes that were laid months ago by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a video on X.

"Internationally recognised transit routes in the Strait are free of Iranian sea mines."

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf has lashed out at US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after he accused Tehran of spending vast sums abroad while Iranians struggle to meet their basic needs.

In a post on X, Qalibaf said Washington should spend money on its own citizens instead of directing billions of dollars to its overseas allies and military bases.

"Instead of funnelling billions to its terrorist proxy, Israel, and 750 bases, this failing empire could spend that cash on its own people, but nah, that'd make too much sense for this regime," he said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will step up efforts to isolate Iran economically as he hosts G20 counterparts next week, a US official said, in a gathering clouded by war and trade tensions.

The official signalled Bessent will make direct appeals to counterparts in bilateral meetings. But they stopped short of sharing who he had scheduled talks with and whether they include China.

A new US aircraft carrier will deploy to the Middle East to relieve another carrier that recently sailed to the region as the war with Iran drags on, the US Naval Institute (USNI) reported.

The USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group is expected to sail from San Diego, on the US west coast, in the coming weeks, for a more than seven-month deployment, USNI said on Wednesday.

It will relieve the USS George Washington, which deployed from Japan and arrived in the Middle East last week, replacing the USS Abraham Lincoln, amid reports of grim conditions and even suicide attempts on that carrier that has been at sea since November 2025.

At the time, the acting Navy secretary pushed back on these concerns.

The Lincoln is currently heading for a port call in Thailand next week for its 5,000 sailors.

Iran will target US economic interests if the maritime blockade against the country continues, a senior Iranian official has warned.

"If the blockade continues, we will target US economic interests fully and with intensity and force," Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said, according to state broadcaster IRIB.

Rezaei said Iran had "broken the maritime blockade" during the ceasefire and exported between 70 million and 80 million barrels of oil.