Key facts
- US forces struck and disabled three Iranian crude oil carriers.
- Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned US energy companies could face retaliatory strikes.
- Ghalibaf stated that any aggression against Iran's interests would receive a faster, more intense, and more painful response.
- The conflict involves alleged Iranian attacks on US Navy vessels and US strikes on Iranian tankers.
- The Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20% of global oil and LNG passes, is a key point of tension.
Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has warned that US energy companies could face retaliatory strikes if Washington proceeds with threats to attack Iranian oil tankers. Ghalibaf stated that the oil and gas production chain is accessible and exposed, and that American companies share this vulnerability.
This escalation follows US strikes that disabled three Iranian crude oil carriers, identified as M/T Downy, M/T Stark 1, and M/T Kylo, between September 5 and 6. The US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that these strikes were in response to alleged Iranian attacks on US Navy vessels, including two warships and a guided-missile destroyer.
Ghalibaf asserted that the era of proportionate responses has ended and that any aggression against Iran's interests would receive a faster, more intense, and more painful response. He suggested that if Iran's energy exports are targeted, neighboring Gulf states' oil shipments would also be affected, framing Gulf oil exports in binary terms: "Either all or none."
The Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which approximately 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas passes, is a focal point of the tensions. Ghalibaf singled out Kharg Island, Iran's primary oil export terminal, as a potential flashpoint, warning that an attack on such infrastructure could draw the US into an "endless quagmire."