Indicates the type of a location. Location Type Defined by CCTVPLUS Indicates the role that a specific instance of a description takes among all descriptions. Description Role Defined by CCTVPLUS The role in the overall content stream. Part Role Indicates a kind of content rendition. Content Rendition Defined by CCTVPLUS CCTV Newscontent Co.,Ltd. CCTV Newscontent Co.,Ltd. All Rights Reserved. No access Chinese mainland CCTV Newscontent www.cctvplus.com +86-10-83949886 +86-10-63978447 contact@cctvplus.com 2026-04-17T12:26:14Z 2026-04-17T12:26:14Z 2026-04-17 2014-11-06T09:22:45Z China Central Television Iran Politics/Other Economy/Other April 16, 2026/Recent/File Iran-US/Economic Terrorism Iran says fresh sanction threats reveal U.S. 'economic terrorism' Iran on Thursday denounced the latest U.S. sanctions as "economic terrorism," as Washington announced a new campaign to exert maximum economic pressure on the Islamic Republic. The strong condemnation came from Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, who took to social media to express his country's stance. "It is utterly abominable how policies that deliberately inflict pain and suffering on innocent people are presented with smug self-righteousness. This only reveals an inhumane mindset behind them. These are nothing short of economic terrorism and state-sponsored extortion -- actions that amount to crimes against humanity and, in their cumulative effect, constitute genocide," Baghaei posted on social media X. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at a Pentagon briefing on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Treasury is launching an operation called "Economic Fury" against Iran to maximize economic pressure. Hegseth said that the U.S. military stands ready to resume combat operations "with more power than ever before" if Iran makes the wrong choice and refuses to reach an agreement. He also described a potential U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports as the mildest way to deal with it at present. The U.S. goal is to ensure "Iran never has a nuclear weapon," Hegseth said, adding that the U.S. prefers a mild approach through negotiations but does not rule out tough methods. Nats/Part Mute Beijing, China - April 17, 2026 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland) 1. Screenshot of social media statement posted Thursday by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei FILE: Tehran, Iran - Jan 21, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International/Radio Farda) 2. National flag of Iran FILE: Tehran, Iran - Jan 30, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International/Radio Farda) 3. National flags of Iran FILE: Iran - 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International/Radio Farda) 4. Various of heavy smoke rising after air strikes by United States, Israel Tehran, Iran - April 3, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International/Radio Farda) 5. Various of destroyed buildings, debris, sign of Azadi Sports Complex FILE: Yazd, Iran - 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International/Radio Farda) 6. Various of relief workers, debris, rubbles FILE: Iran - 2026 (Phoenix TV - No access Chinese mainland/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International/Radio Farda) 7. Various of damaged buildings, vehicle Tehran, Iran - April 8, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland/Al-Arabiya/Persian language TV Stations outside Iran. Strictly No Access BBC Persian/VOA Persian/Manoto TV/Iran International/Radio Farda) 8. Various of traffic, pedestrians, national flags of Iran FILE: Washington D.C., USA - Oct 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland) 9. Various of White House, U.S. national flag