Iran Vows Strong Response if Oil Sales or Security Threatened

Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has warned that if the country's oil sales and security are not guaranteed, no one else's will be. In a speech to Parliament on Tuesday, Qalibaf stated that Iran would respond strongly to any US attempt to disrupt its oil sales or undermine its security.

Qalibaf referenced recent comments by US President Donald Trump regarding the Strait of Hormuz and the passage of ships through it. He noted that these claims are unfounded and a repetition of previous statements, which have been widely criticized as baseless.

Tehran has conditioned the reopening of the waterway on seven prerequisites, including an end to warfare on all fronts, release of Iran's frozen assets, and realization of an end to the US naval blockade of Iranian vessels and ports. Qalibaf emphasized that Iran would respond decisively to any US attempt to enforce a naval blockade or close Iranian air corridors.

He drew a parallel with the breaking of the siege of the southwestern Iranian city of Abadan during the war imposed on the Islamic Republic by Iraq's former dictator Saddam Hussein in the 1980s. Qalibaf stated that America's current efforts would also be defeated through serious economic planning and management and military responses.