Trump’s ‘D-Day’ economic war on Iran: Why Gulf states are most worried

US President Donald Trump is preparing to take his campaign against Iran into a new phase, with Washington threatening tougher sanctions and economic isolation in a bid to force Tehran into accepting a deal. But the strategy carries a major risk for the Gulf: Iran could respond not by capitulating, but by attacking the region’s energy infrastructure and alternative oil-shipping routes.The warning came from Mohsen Rezaei, the newly appointed head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, who said Tehran would retaliate against neighbouring countries that joined what he described as the US “economic war”. Iran, he warned, could target oil routes outside the Strait of Hormuz and the interests of countries supporting Washington.“If Trump wants to do something, we will retaliate in a seismic manner,” Rezaei said in an interview with Iranian state broadcaster IRIB.