Complete erosion of sovereignty as foundation of US-based inter-State system: Iran on US sanctions

Iran has condemned new US economic sanctions, accusing Washington of asserting extraterritorial sovereignty over independent nations. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said the measures violate international law and warned that combined with a naval blockade, they could erode national sovereignty.

Tehran: Iran on Saturday condemned the new economic sanctions imposed by the United States and said the result would be the “complete erosion of sovereignty as the foundational basis of the UN-based inter-State system”.

The remarks came after US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday “the most crushing economic operation ever taken” against any country providing a lifeline to Iran.

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Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei, taking to X, said, “The United States’ declaration of new economic sanctions on Iran is far more than continued unlawful ‘economic warfare’ against a single country. It is an assertion of extraterritorial sovereignty over every independent Member State of the United Nations.”

He further argued that no country can legally compel foreign banks, companies or airports, subject to the “exclusive jurisdiction” of their respective countries, to “abandon lawful commercial relations” with another country.

“Such secondary sanctions find no foundation in international law. They violate the principle of sovereign equality enshrined in Article 2(1) of the UN Charter and breach the customary prohibition on intervention affirmed by the International Court of Justice in the Nicaragua case. Economic coercion designed to force a sovereign State to alter its lawful policy choices constitutes an outright internationally wrongful act,” Baqaei said.

He warned that, when these measures are combined with a naval blockade that amounts to “military aggression”, the US’ demands reduce the sovereignty of other countries to “something provisional, conditional, and susceptible” to being revoked by another power.

“Compliance purchases no immunity or respect; it merely concedes that one’s banks, enterprises, and airports operate only under a foreign licence,” Baqaei added.

He stressed that the final result of this policy would be the erosion of sovereignty as the fundamental basis of the UN Charter.

“The end result would be the complete erosion of sovereignty as the foundational basis of the UN-based inter-State system, and a recipe for an abysmal return to full-scale classic colonialism,” he added.