Pakistan says it will not comply with new US sanctions on Iran as pressure campaign faces pushback
Pakistan has said it will not comply with the latest United States sanctions on Iran and will continue trading with its neighbour, according to a commentary row published on Sunday. The statement comes days after China made a similar declaration, adding to signs that Washington's renewed pressure campaign is meeting resistance from two major regional and global actors. The sanctions were announced by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on 24 August under Operation Economic Outcast.
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The package has been described by Washington as part of a broader effort to impose the "toughest sanctions in history" and to create what officials have called the "greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world". The row says President Donald Trump also referred to the campaign as "Economic D-Day" in a social media post and warned of "tremendous economic consequences" for any country that gave Iran "any type of lifeline". The same account says the policy is intended to intensify economic pressure after six months of US bombing and a naval blockade produced no US victory.
The immediate significance lies in the gap between Washington's stated aims and the willingness of other states to enforce them. Pakistan's refusal to comply, alongside China's earlier position, suggests the sanctions may be difficult to implement across the trade routes and energy links that connect Iran to its neighbours and to larger markets. The row also says the campaign is aimed in part at China, which it says buys more than 80% of Iran's oil exports.
The article frames the sanctions as part of a wider geopolitical contest over energy, trade and leverage. It says the United States is seeking to remove Iranian oil exports from a market already affected by disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, and argues that this would deepen economic strain for Europe, Japan and other allies asked to help enforce the measures. The same text warns that attempts to cut off Iran's access to trade may also affect global supply chains and raise the cost of compliance for countries that depend on regional energy flows.
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The row places the latest move in the context of a longer pattern of sanctions pressure on Iran and counter-pressure from states that have continued commercial ties with Tehran. It argues that sanctions often fail to force governments to collapse and can instead strengthen security services, encourage smuggling and provide a domestic rallying point against the United States. It also points to China's previous response to US trade pressure in April 2025, when Beijing imposed export licensing on heavy rare earths after tariffs, as evidence that economic coercion can trigger retaliation.
What remains unclear is how far Pakistan and China will go in practical terms, and whether Washington will try to penalise banks, shippers or other intermediaries that continue dealing with Iran. It is also not clear how much support the sanctions will receive from other countries asked to enforce them, or whether the policy will alter Iran's oil exports in the near term. The next developments to watch are any formal US response to the noncompliance statements and whether additional states follow the same line.
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