Iran accused the United States of engaging in "systemic bullying" and economic lawlessness, pointing to Washington's renewed trade confrontation with Canada as evidence that U.S. coercive policies extend well beyond Tehran. The criticism from Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei came as President Donald Trump declared that the U.S. Navy had removed all mines from international waters in the Strait of Hormuz, even as Iran and Oman pursued a separate agreement aimed at securing navigation through the strategic waterway.
Baghaei used the U.S.-Canada tariff dispute to broaden Iran's longstanding criticism of American sanctions, arguing that Washington increasingly expects governments and businesses around the world to comply with its economic demands or risk retaliation. His comments sought to connect disputes involving a traditional U.S. ally with the Trump administration's pressure campaign against Iran.
"When a bully declares that every bank, company, port, and government must choose between obeying Washington's whims or facing American vengeance, this is no longer just about Iran," Baghaei wrote on X.
The Iranian spokesman argued that such pressure threatens principles of sovereignty and equality between nations. He portrayed the trade dispute with Ottawa as an example of how economic confrontation with Washington can spread even to countries with longstanding political and commercial ties to the U.S.
"No decent state that values its sovereignty and national interests will accept the normalisation of such grand lawlessness and systemic bullying," Baghaei wrote, adding that Canada was among the countries experiencing the consequences firsthand.
Baghaei's attack unfolded against a separate confrontation over the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important energy corridors. Trump said on Truth Social that U.S. forces had completed operations to remove mines from the international portion of the waterway.
"I have just been informed by the United States Navy that all mines have been removed and/or detonated from within the International Waters of the Strait of Hormuz," Trump wrote.
Trump coupled the announcement with a warning to Tehran that any attempt to restore the mine threat would trigger an immediate U.S. response. "Iran has been notified that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed," he said.
The president also said U.S. Space Force capabilities were being used to monitor the strait as well as Pickaxe Mountain and other Iranian nuclear sites. "There is a Zero Tolerance policy on mine placement in full force and effect," Trump wrote.
At the same time, Iran and Oman are developing their own framework for maritime security. Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met in Tehran on Tuesday and announced plans for a temporary joint navigational corridor through the Strait of Hormuz.
The two governments also agreed to pursue a joint mine-clearing project, according to their communiqué. The timing created an apparent discrepancy with Trump's assertion that mines in international waters had already been removed, though the statements could refer to different geographic areas or stages of clearance operations.
Technical discussions between Tehran and Muscat are expected to continue over a possible permanent navigational corridor and the mechanisms needed to administer it. Iran and Oman, which sit on opposite sides of the Strait of Hormuz, have been discussing traffic management, maritime information sharing and security arrangements for several weeks.
The parallel tracks illustrate the competing approaches now shaping the region. Washington is relying on military deterrence and economic pressure, while Oman and Iran are attempting to build a bilateral mechanism for maintaining commercial navigation.
