Iran's Parliament Speaker Cites Unplayed Oil Cards Against US
Ghalibaf counters US threats, highlighting Iran's Hormuz control as key energy weapon.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has warned the United States that American consumers could face sharply higher gasoline prices if tensions in the Middle East worsen, arguing that Tehran still holds more leverage in the global oil market than Washington. In a post on X, Ghalibaf framed the standoff as a high‑stakes game of “supply cards” versus “demand cards,” suggesting that Iran’s control over critical oil routes gives it powerful tools to influence energy prices if the confrontation escalates.
Ghalibaf pointed specifically to the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil normally flows, noting that Iran’s options there are only “partly played.” He listed Bab el‑Mandeb and regional oil pipelines as “entirely unplayed” cards, implying that Tehran could further disrupt global crude flows if US pressure continues. Against this, he cast the US hand as depleted, citing exhausted strategic‑petroleum‑reserve releases, already‑absorbed demand‑destruction effects, and limited room for additional price‑masking measures.
The comments come amid an ongoing war‑linked standoff in which President Donald Trump has threatened to tighten the US naval blockade around key Persian‑Gulf chokepoints, including the Strait of Hormuz. In response, Iranian officials have repeatedly warned that any attempt to choke Iran’s exports or heighten sanctions could trigger a nonlinear spike in oil and petrol prices, hitting US households just as the summer driving season begins.
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Ghalibaf, a former Revolutionary Guards commander and one of Iran’s chief nuclear negotiators, has previously taunted American consumers to “enjoy the current pump figures,” suggesting that prices could climb much higher if the US pushes Iran’s red lines. This latest intervention is widely seen as a calibrated message aimed not at immediate military action, but at shaping the economic calculus in Washington by highlighting Iran’s strategic depth in energy geography and the potential blowback on US voters.
With global oil markets already on edge over the West Asia conflict, Ghalibaf’s warning underscores how tightly energy security and wartime diplomacy are intertwined. While neither side has taken irreversible steps in the Strait of Hormuz yet, Tehran’s rhetoric signals that any sharpening of US measures could prompt retaliatory moves that drive up fuel prices worldwide—and place the heaviest burden on everyday consumers in countries such as the United States.
Also Read: Businesses Spend Up To $4 Million To Reroute Cargo Via Panama Canal Amid Hormuz Tensions
