Iran’s parliament speaker threatened on Tuesday to strike infrastructure across the Middle East. Tehran was waiting for a formal U.S. answer to its plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. “In a region where we cannot sell oil, no one else will sell oil either; or if our security is not guaranteed, no infrastructure will remain safe,” said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s chief negotiator as well, in a video released by state TV.
The warning came on September 29, days after U.S. envoys met Iran’s foreign minister in New York. U.S. President Donald Trump had already dismissed Tehran’s proposal.
The Security Picture
Since the war began in late February with U.S.-Israeli strikes on the Islamic Republic, Iran has kept commercial shipping from passing through Hormuz. Before the conflict, the route carried a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. The U.S. military responded by blockading Iranian ports to prevent Tehran from exporting oil.
Fighting has eased in recent weeks. Tehran, however, continues to target ships in the strait. Washington has relied on economic pressure instead of further military action.
The two sides disagree over whether the waterway is open. The U.S. says oil is moving through; Tehran says the strait is closed. Hossein Mohebbi, spokesperson for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, called the U.S. claim “false.” He said a few hundred barrels moving “under the cover of darkness — with transponders turned off and at great cost” did not mean the strait was open. “Any vessel attempting to pass through sustains damage,” Mohebbi said. “Either we strike it, or it hits a mine.” By his account, a truly open strait would see at least 125 vessels daily carrying a minimum of 20 million barrels of oil and petroleum products.
Diplomatic Dead End
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in New York for the U.N. General Assembly, said Qatari intermediaries had “presented ideas, and we discussed them.” The sides were set to raise the matter with the Americans again, he said, after which “the final US response will be conveyed to us.” He expected an answer within a day. “The current focus is solely on the Strait of Hormuz,” Araghchi said, adding that reopening it “is contingent upon the fulfilment of certain conditions.”
Iran’s conditions are extensive. It wants a seven-day ceasefire across the Middle East, including Lebanon, where Israel regularly bombs its ally Hezbollah, Arab News reported. Iran also demands that other countries unfreeze its assets, lift sanctions on its oil sector and end the U.S. naval blockade of its ports.
Last week’s discussions involved Araghchi and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Qatari foreign ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said “several meetings and messages have been exchanged, including some in New York and earlier.” He said efforts are “focused on building common ground between the parties.”
The Regional Threat
Gulf states are paying the price. Iran’s control of Hormuz has dealt them a severe blow, and they have also faced Iranian fire, Arab News reported. Al Ansari said Iranian authorities “need to take a decision to distance our countries from this war and to take a very clear position of non-aggression toward their neighbors.”
The ceasefire demand for Lebanon connects the Hormuz standoff to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. Tehran has made the two files part of one bargaining position.
Why This Matters: Iran is linking the reopening of a shipping lane that once carried a fifth of the world’s oil and gas to a ceasefire covering Lebanon, sanctions relief and access to frozen assets. From a security standpoint, that ties Hezbollah’s fight with Israel to a global energy chokepoint. Ghalibaf’s threat against regional infrastructure, alongside Iranian fire already reaching Gulf states, shows that the costs extend well beyond the belligerents. Qatar’s call for Tehran to take a “clear position of non-aggression” reflects how exposed Iran’s neighbors feel. For Israel and its partners, the question is whether any arrangement on Hormuz would leave Iran’s leverage intact while its allies stay armed.