Battered by war, Iran’s rulers wary of more economic pain and unrest if US tightens pressure

By Parisa Hafezi DUBAI, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Even as Iran projects resilience in the war with the United States, its leaders are worried that a threat of more economic punishment by Donald Trump could increase hardships, reignite unrest and further erode the Islamic Republic’s legitimacy. The U.S. president vowed on Friday to hit Iran hard economically, a day after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would impose measures on Tehran that have "never been seen" as early as next week.…