The Iranian government has issued a threat to seize the assets of expatriates who provide aid or backing to the U.S. and Israel during the ongoing conflict.
“A notice has been sent to Iranians residing overseas who, through various means, express sympathy, backing, or collaboration with the American-Zionist adversary,” the prosecutor general’s office stated via state media. “Such individuals face the seizure of their entire assets and further legal consequences as mandated by law.”
The office reportedly cited legislation that authorizes the taking of assets from those who work with “hostile” nations or organizations that conflict with Iran’s national security.
After U.S. and Israeli attacks resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, parts of the Iranian diaspora have assembled in cities throughout the U.S. and other countries to publicly celebrate.
These demonstrations are a sharp contrast to the mourning directives issued by the ruling Iranian administration.
According to an August 2025 report by the non-profit Group for Analyzing and Measuring Attitudes in Iran (GAMAAN), merely around 20% of Iranians supported the persistence of the Islamic Republic in 2024. Pew Research Center data indicates that 750,000 Iranians were residing in the U.S. as of 2024.
This latest warning from Tehran emerges following the confirmation that Mojtaba Khamenei is set to take over from his father as Supreme Leader. This succession indicates a plan to maintain the hardline governance established during the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier called Mojtaba, the second son of Khamenei, an “unacceptable” selection and reportedly expressed to Fox News that he was displeased with the appointment.
Concurrently, the expanding conflict with Iran, now in its tenth day, indicates no signs of slowing down. Trump has called for an “unconditional surrender” from Iran—a demand that has been decisively refused up to this point.
The conflict has halted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping lane, causing crude oil costs to jump. A barrel now exceeds $100, marking the first time prices have reached this level since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
On Monday, finance ministers from the G7 nations—an intergovernmental forum of the world’s top seven advanced economies, including the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Japan—convened an urgent session to tackle the rising prices.
Although no official agreement has been finalized, the International Energy Agency (IEA) verified that all potential strategies were considered, such as “releasing IEA emergency oil reserves to the market.”
Nations belonging to the IEA currently possess more than 1.2 billion barrels of public emergency oil reserves.