Facing Economic Pressure, Iran Boasts Shift from Defensive to Offensive Military Posture

TEHRAN, Aug 22:  Iran on Saturday sharply condemned the latest round of US sanctions, alleging the measures exceed economic pressure and violate international sovereignty, while the Iranian army separately announced a significant shift in its military doctrine from a defensive to an offensive posture.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said the new US sanctions go beyond “economic warfare” against Tehran and represent an attempt to impose Washington’s authority over other nations.

In a statement posted on X, Baghaei argued that Washington has no legal right to force foreign banks, companies, or airports to halt lawful trade with Iran, saying secondary sanctions violate the principle of sovereign equality among states.

He warned that the sanctions, combined with a US naval blockade, threaten to make other countries’ sovereignty conditional on Washington’s approval. Baghaei cautioned that widespread compliance with such measures could erode the sovereignty of UN member states and lead to what he described as a return to “classic colonialism.”

Army announces doctrinal shift

In a separate development, the Iranian army said Saturday its military doctrine is shifting from a “defensive to an offensive” posture, citing lessons learned from the country’s recent conflicts.

Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia, spokesman for the Iranian army, told the state news agency IRNA that the shift had taken place gradually during what he described as the 12-day and 40-day wars.

“Our country’s military doctrine was defensive in the past, but gradually during these two wars, we witnessed the military doctrine moving from a defensive posture toward an offensive one,” Akraminia said.

He said the change was reflected in what he called rapid and broader responses to attacks as well as preemptive operations.

Akraminia also said the army has devised a plan offering financial rewards for killing or capturing US troops in the event of a ground incursion into Iranian territory. Under the plan, members of the armed forces or civilians legally possessing hunting weapons would receive 5 billion tomans (about $26,000) for killing or capturing US troops entering Iran, he said.

The reward would be doubled to 10 billion tomans (about $53,000) if the action were carried out by a woman, Akraminia added.

He said the army would also purchase the weapon used for twice its value, preserve it in a military museum under the owner’s name, and provide the individual with a similar replacement weapon.

Akraminia further claimed that US influence in the region has declined sharply, pointing to what he described as a defense and security mechanism established by Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Pakistan independently of Washington. He said that regardless of its future effectiveness, the mechanism demonstrated what he called the decline of the US position in the region and described it as the first regional defense and security mechanism without US participation.