In the long contest between sovereign ambition and imperial reach, Iran has now extended its warning beyond the battlefield into the arteries of global commerce, threatening to strike American economic interests should Washington's sanctions coalition tighten its grip. An Iranian official framed his country's posture as one of measured restraint — military responses only, so far — but made clear that economic aggression would be met in kind. As the UAE severs trade ties with Tehran and China declines to join the American campaign, the world watches a familiar pattern unfold: great powers pulli