Ghalibaf warns no Gulf country will sell oil if Iran is blocked

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has warned that no country in the region would be able to sell oil if Iran were prevented from doing so, as tensions with Washington over the Strait of Hormuz continue.

“The US and other countries should know … that in a region where we cannot sell oil, no one will sell oil,” Ghalibaf said on Tuesday, according to state-run IRNA.

He also warned that no infrastructure in the region would be safe if Iran’s security was not guaranteed, adding that Tehran would respond swiftly to any threat or “adventurism”.

Ghalibaf warned that Iran would respond to any attempt by Washington to impose a naval blockade, restrict Iranian air corridors or pressure its commercial lifelines.

He said Tehran would counter such measures through economic planning, management and military responses.

Ghalibaf also referred to Trump’s recent UN General Assembly speech, in which the US president said he could either reach a deal with Iran or take military action, while accusing Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons.

Ghalibaf said Iran did not seek war but would defend its security and rights, warning that any act of aggression would draw a “tough, painful, precise, and swift” response.

Ghalibaf’s remarks came after US President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to restore normal commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, saying Tehran’s conditions were unacceptable.