Top Iran official says US focus on economic warfare shows it has failed militarily

The Iranian regime has dismissed President Trump's threats to crush the country economically, saying that years of U.S. sanctions have failed.

<img src='https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/6000x4000+0+0/resize/6000x4000!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fce%2F1d%2Fd4b7c00c49eb8088a4e7decd6ac0%2Fap26232551199754.jpg' alt='Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf speaks during a 40-day commemoration ceremony for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at the Imam Hassan Mosque in Karbala, Iraq, Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026.'/><p>The Iranian regime has dismissed President Trump's threats to crush the country economically, saying that years of U.S. sanctions have failed.</p><p>(Image credit: Hadi Mizban)</p><img src='https://media.npr.org/include/images/tracking/npr-rss-pixel.png?story=nx-s1-5940610' />