Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has reiterated that Tehran remains in control of the Strait of Hormuz, despite claims from the Donald Trump administration.
Ghalibaf Slams ‘US Narrative-Laundromat’
In a post on X on Sunday, Ghalibaf said that the “US gaslighting bureau says Iran doesn’t control SOH [Strait of Hormuz],” but that the market was charging “a big premium” on oil, with customers paying “$35 over pre-invasion” and “$50 using dated/actual” prices since the war began.
“Either the market’s dumb or the US narrative-laundromat is faking it,” Ghalibaf said. He added that there was a “free-dollar vending machine in Hormuz for believers,” urging people to “grab” the opportunity.
Last week, the Iranian Parliament Speaker warned the U.S. that Tehran would return the U.S. to the 1970s with high fuel costs and shortages, referring to the 70s gas crises fueled by the 1973 war between Israel and an Arab coalition led by Egypt and Syria, as well as the oil shocks triggered by the 1979 Iranian Revolution.
On September 23, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center (UKMTO) reported an incident, saying that a vessel had been struck by an “unknown projectile” in the Strait of Hormuz, resulting in two casualties.
Pezeshkian Touts ‘Peace’
On Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stressed that he, as well as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, were conveying the message that Tehran remains open to negotiations with the U.S. at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City.
Iran had touted reopening the Strait of Hormuz to restore the usual maritime traffic within seven days as part of a broader agreement to end the conflict and restart negotiations, but Tehran has said that the U.S. must go back to the terms agreed in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in June this year.
Trump Rejects Ceasefire Proposal
Trump, over the weekend, announced that he had rejected a proposal for peace by Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying that Tehran wanted to rush a peace deal because it was “losing so badly” as the U.S. has announced a series of sanctions on Iran, while also targeting the country’s aviation sector.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said last week that targeted restrictions on Iranian aviation, part of the Operation Economic Outcast, were working. He claimed that there had been an 80%-90% reduction in external Iranian flights since the U.S. threatened to kick countries and institutions out of the dollar system for aiding Iran by helping it run its airlines.
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