IRGC Spokesman: Economic Pressure and Blockade to Cost US More Than Iran

Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi, spokesman for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said in an interview with Mehr News Agency that Washington had believed it could bring Iran to its knees through military power and its naval fleet, but recent developments had shown such calculations were far from reality.

"A major part of America's power rests on displaying its military capabilities. They imagined that the mere presence of a naval fleet and aircraft carriers would force Iran to retreat, but for every step they took forward, they were forced to take several steps back," he said. He added that the United States, which claims to be the world's leading military power, had encountered serious limitations in confronting Iran.

Mohebbi noted that the United States was itself burdened by heavy economic debts and was simultaneously in an economic conflict with China and other countries, raising questions about how it could claim to win an economic war against Iran. "If we calculate from an economic perspective, the damage these conditions inflict on America can be several times greater than the damage inflicted on Iran. If America wants to inflict one dollar of economic damage on Iran, it may face several dollars of cost and damage to itself," he said.

He also said regional developments were affecting raw materials and energy markets, with U.S. strategic reserves now under pressure and the country facing problems securing some of its needed raw materials. He said the production and export of aluminum had been affected by regional developments, with part of the production capacity in regional countries taken out of the cycle.

"The sum of these developments shows that applying economic pressure and creating a blockade does not necessarily mean victory for the sanctioning side, and can even bring heavy costs for it," Mohebbi said. According to Mehr News Agency, these remarks were made in the context of ongoing tensions between Iran and the United States, with Washington imposing sanctions and military pressure on Tehran.