We've Seen This Movie Before': Araghchi Mocks New US

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Araghchi seen this movie before US sanctions Iran

We've Seen This Movie Before': Araghchi Runs Down 14 Years of Failed US Sanctions on Iran

The Pakistan Times — Islamabad, August 22, 2026

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi didn't just reject Trump's new sanctions push this time, he laid out a full receipt of every past US pressure campaign against Iran and mocked each one for falling short. Posting on X, he ran through the list himself: fourteen years ago it was the most crippling sanctions in history, that failed. Eight years ago it was maximum pressure, that failed too. Five months ago Washington demanded unconditional surrender, also failed. Now it's what Trump is calling the most crushing economic operation ever, which Araghchi simply predicted is bound to fail as well, closing with the line that's now spreading across social media, we've seen this movie before, same bull, different bullies.

He didn't stop at his own words either. Araghchi dug up and shared a 2012 post from Barack Obama quoting then-Vice President Joe Biden, who had called sanctions on Iran at the time the most crippling sanctions in the history of sanctions, using it as evidence that Washington has been recycling the same dramatic language against Tehran for over a decade with the same result each time.

This comes right as Trump's team is rolling out what they're internally calling Operation Economic Fury, aimed at forcing Iran's leadership to abandon its nuclear program and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent added a new wrinkle to the threat in a CNBC interview, warning of secondary sanctions on any country or company still doing business with Iran, without naming exact targets yet, though China and India remain Iran's biggest oil buyers and would be the obvious candidates if Washington follows through.

There's a practical side to why Araghchi feels confident dismissing this. Roughly 80 percent of Iran's foreign currency exchange reportedly still runs through Dubai, according to a former US Treasury official who spoke to CBS News, meaning Iran has kept functioning financial workarounds in place through nearly five decades of American sanctions already. President Pezeshkian, in a separate address, acknowledged the pressure is real, pointing to disrupted imports and exports from the ongoing US naval blockade, but he also publicly questioned how sustainable this kind of pressure campaign actually is for Washington to maintain long term.

So where does this leave things? Iran hawks in Washington are reportedly urging patience, arguing this round is different and just needs time to bite. Other analysts covering the story aren't so sure, suggesting Trump is repeating the exact same playbook his predecessors already tried and watched fail. Araghchi, for his part, seems entirely comfortable betting that history repeats itself here too.

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