Ghalibaf Threatens US Oil and Gas Assets if Iran’s Assets Are Hit

Key Facts

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that US oil and gas companies and their regional assets could be targeted if the United States attacked Iranian assets, according to two separate reports citing his post on X. That condition makes the warning narrower than wording that implies Iran has already decided to launch imminent strikes.

Ghalibaf’s statement responded to a US threat to attack Iranian tankers if Tehran continued firing on American vessels. It therefore marks another exchange of warnings tied to the maritime confrontation around the Strait of Hormuz, rather than an announcement that attacks on named companies have begun.

The reported warning centered on US oil and gas companies and assets operating in regional waters and facilities. Ghalibaf did not identify individual companies, and the retrieved reports contain no mention of cyberattacks.

EIA estimates of Hormuz flows put the risk in context. Oil and petroleum-liquids flows through the strait averaged 4.9 million barrels a day in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 21.6 million barrels a day in the fourth quarter of 2025 before the conflict began.

Recent market moves illustrate the distinction between a threat and a physical disruption. Brent rose from $69 a barrel on July 2 to $105 on July 23 after renewed tanker attacks and reduced shipments, while EIA forecast an average of about $85 in the third quarter of 2026 and $78 in the fourth quarter of 2026.

The transmission of risk to oil prices therefore depends mainly on a physical impact on shipping or production, not rhetoric alone. If the warning turns into an attack or Hormuz traffic is disrupted, supply and transport costs could be affected, but the warning by itself does not establish a particular path for oil or energy shares.