Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf cautioned on Monday that United States energy assets in the Gulf and around the Strait of Hormuz face Iranian retaliation should Washington target Tehran’s oil and gas infrastructure, Anadolu reports.
“The oil and gas production chain here is expansive, accessible, and vulnerable. American oil and gas firms operating across these waters and facilities share this exposure,” Qalibaf stated on the US social media platform X.
“Strike our assets, and you will be struck. We have already demonstrated this. Look at the bases that are no longer operational,” he added.
His comments followed US warnings that Iranian oil vessels could be targeted in retaliation for attacks on American naval forces.
“Let the message to the IRGC be unequivocal: If you fire upon two of our ships, we will impose an even greater economic toll—eliminating three of yours,” Cooper stated.
“We will not hesitate to defend American forces and, if necessary, dismantle Iran’s limited and exposed oil fleet,” he added.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth subsequently reposted the CENTCOM footage on X and issued a similar warning.
“If Iran fires at US ships, we will destroy and sink their oil tankers. The only requirement is that they refrain from attacking the U.S. Navy,” Hegseth stated.
“Iran’s oil tanker fleet is defenseless—Iran possesses no navy or air force. Our aircraft, vessels, and submarines can strike them all,” he added.
These warnings emerge amid ongoing US-Iran hostilities and tensions regarding navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran asserts that its strikes on US military forces are executed under its right to self-defense and has warned that continued attacks on Iranian commercial vessels, coupled with what it describes as a US naval blockade and economic warfare, would provoke retaliatory actions.
