Iran warns of regional energy strikes as Hormuz standoff persists

Iran has issued a stark warning that it will target energy infrastructure across the Middle East if its security is not guaranteed, escalating its rhetoric while awaiting an official United States response to a proposed plan for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The threat was articulated by Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, in a video broadcast by state television on September 29. He stated that in a region where Iran cannot sell oil, no other nation would be permitted to do so, and that without guaranteed security, no infrastructure would remain safe. This development occurs as air attacks by both sides have recently subsided, although ships in the key waterway continue to be targeted by Iran, which claims control over the strait despite US assertions that it remains open.

The ultimatum was delivered on a day when Tehran expected an official response from US officials regarding a plan offered the previous week. The proposal would reopen the strait, which before the conflict served as the transit lane for approximately one-fifth of the world’s gas and oil supply. Under the terms of the plan, Tehran proposed reopening the strait and restarting nuclear talks within seven days. This was contingent on Washington lifting its naval blockade of ships heading to Iran, removing sanctions on oil sales, and re-imposing a regional cease-fire. US President Donald Trump has dismissed the plan, yet he has also indicated that he expects further talks between US and Iranian negotiators to take place this week.

While awaiting a potential official answer to its proposal, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps published a letter to American voters on September 29. The document blamed the United States for starting the war on February 28, while adding that the two countries could coexist if US policy changed. The letter, aimed at US voters who Tehran said could change the course of the conflict, claimed that more than 3,600 Iranians, mostly civilians including 400 children, were killed during the war. The United States has stated that it has lost 18 troops in the conflict. The letter concedes that air strikes have destroyed part of Iran’s nuclear industry and a limited number of air defense sites, while repeating Tehran’s assertion that its nuclear program was solely for civilian purposes.

RFE/RL has reached out to the US State Department for comment on the letter but did not receive an immediate response. US voters are set to head to the polls in midterm elections on November 3. All 435 seats of the House of Representatives are being contested, as well as one-third of the Senate’s 100 seats. The situation unfolds against a backdrop of ongoing tensions, with recent reports noting that US distillate stocks continue to fall as crude inventories build, and that WTI is trading significantly below Brent. Additionally, the White House has ruled out a diesel export ban as prices surge, while California and the EU move to rein in the environmental cost of artificial intelligence.