Via The Cradle

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared on 28 August that either all Persian Gulf countries will be allowed to export oil freely or none will, adding that the security of West Asia depends on the withdrawal of US forces.

“The equation of this war is clear: either all or none!” Ghalibaf said, adding, “In a region where we don’t sell oil, no one else will sell oil either.” The speaker emphasized further, “If our security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe.”

“Security of the strait depends on the absence of US forces. We have said many times that the situation in the strait will not return to what it was before the war.”

The comments came in response to claims by US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Admiral Brad Cooper that US forces had seized full control of the Strait of Hormuz and halted Iranian oil exports. 

Iran’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement issued the same day, urged all states to refuse to enforce a new US sanctions package the same day, warning that compliance makes a government complicit in violating international law and the sovereign equality of states.

Washington unveiled the measures under the name “Operation Economic Outcast” after failing to reach its war aims against Iran with military force.

The ministry condemned the package as economic terrorism, stating that it revealed “the criminal intent of those who designed and implemented it to inflict suffering on the Iranian people and deprive Iranian citizens of their fundamental human rights; therefore, it is tantamount to an international crime and a crime against humanity.” 

It said the US was weaponizing the dollar to pressure other governments into backing its policies on Iran, in breach of the UN Charter and the principle of non-intervention.

Tehran also said the sanctions defy the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order of October 3, 2018 requiring Washington to lift barriers to the flow of food, medicine, and medical equipment.

The ministry tied the economic war to the broader US-Israeli offensive against Iran over the past year and a half, and said the failure of the UN and its members to confront those violations has produced “a highly dangerous pattern of lawlessness.”

Senator Kennedy floats the possibility of US pulling out of the Iran war while leaving the Strait of Hormuz closed

It would certainly be an option at some point, now that we’ve accomplished most of our goals, for us to come home. The president’s critics will say, but the Strait… pic.twitter.com/qVdb40yHvp

— Acyn (@Acyn) August 28, 2026

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi previously said that Trump’s “Economic D-Day” campaign would deliver Washington nothing but further defeat, calling it a distraction from a US debt crisis that hit a record $40 trillion this month.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the turn to economic war followed Washington’s failure to achieve its military objectives, and that the US was now begging its allies for help while claiming Iran was on the brink of collapse.