Mohammad Samting: The rules of the game have changed, and the era of proportional response has ended

The Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, on Sunday, 15 Shahrivar—one day after the United States’ attack on several Iranian oil tankers in the Persian Gulf—said that the era of “proportional responses” has ended. At the same time, he acknowledged economic problems in the country.

Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf, in remarks during an open session of parliament, threatened: “Any violation of Iran’s interests and security will receive a response that is faster, heavier, and more painful.”

Qalibaf, who is the senior negotiator of the Islamic Republic in talks after the ceasefire with the United States, said in another part of his Sunday address: “Severe fluctuations in the exchange rate, inflation, unemployment, and market management are the fundamental challenges that have put serious pressure on people’s livelihoods.”

He added: “Alongside the military arena, today our main battle is in the field of production and people’s livelihoods.”

These remarks come a day after the price of the dollar in Iran’s free market rose to as high as 228,000 tomans, and official figures on the other hand also show a sharp increase in inflation in recent months.

Ali Madani-Zadeh, Iran’s Minister of Economic Affairs, also said on Sunday that Tehran’s response to intensifying U.S. economic pressures is “economic resistance alongside economic reforms,” and he rejected the view that sanctions will change Iran’s path.

He referred to statements by senior officials of Donald Trump’s administration about the U.S. action to cut Iran off from the global economy, saying: “The idea that it would be possible to change the decisions of a nation by pressuring Iran’s economy is wrong.”

The Iranian minister of economic affairs added: “The responsibility for reforming Iran’s economy lies with the Iranian government and the Iranian people, not the U.S. Treasury Department.”

This comes as, simultaneously, the U.S. Treasury Secretary announced that the combination of a naval blockade and broad sanctions has severely limited Iran’s oil exports and its access to the revenues from them.

Scott Bessent, in an interview with Fox News published on Sunday, referring to China’s role as the main buyer of Iran’s oil, said the naval blockade prevents the departure of newly shipped cargoes and estimated that “probably only about 30 million barrels of Iran’s crude oil remain that China has not yet bought.”