Iran’s Parliament Speaker and lead negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf delivered a stark warning Wednesday, declaring that if Iran is blocked from selling its oil, no other country in the region will be able to do so either.

In a post on X, Ghalibaf threatened: “The equation of this war is clear: Either all or none!” He added, “In a region where we do not sell oil, no one will sell oil.”

The senior Iranian official went further, stating that no infrastructure in the region would remain secure unless Tehran’s own security is guaranteed. “If Iran’s security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe,” he warned, adding that the security of the Strait of Hormuz “depends on the absence of American forces.”

Ghalibaf also made clear that the situation in the vital waterway “will not return to pre-war conditions.”

This latest bellicose rhetoric from one of Iran’s top officials comes as the U.S. continues sustained military pressure on the regime, including strikes on military targets and enforcement of a blockade aimed at protecting commercial shipping. Rather than de-escalate, Tehran is doubling down on threats to disrupt global energy markets and attack regional infrastructure.

The message is unmistakable: Iran views the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas flows — as leverage to be weaponized. Instead of accepting accountability for its aggression, the regime is threatening to drag the entire region into chaos if its demands are not met.

Such statements only reinforce why maximum pressure, not concessions, remains the necessary course. The Iranian leadership continues to show it prioritizes confrontation over the well-being of its own people and regional stability.