– Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf issued a stark ultimatum to Washington on Thursday, declaring that the strategic Strait of Hormuz will only be reopened according to Tehran’s arrangements and vowing that any US military action will be met with an immediate counterstrike.
“Let me be clear: if you strike, you will be struck,” Ghalibaf stated, according to Iranian state media. He cautioned U.S. policymakers against pursuing “pointless” actions, warning that such moves would only cause Washington to “sink even deeper” into regional quagmire.
Asserting Iran’s dominance over one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, the parliament speaker emphasized that the Strait of Hormuz a vital artery for global oil shipments will not be regulated by American threats. “The strait will only be opened according to Iranian arrangements,” he declared, underscoring Tehran’s resolve to control access to the Persian Gulf.
آمریکا هنوز یاد نگرفته است که زورگویی و بدعهدی دیگر بیهزینه نیست. شفاف بگویم: بزنید، میخورید.
— محمدباقر قالیباف | MB Ghalibaf (@mb_ghalibaf) July 9, 2026
دست و پای بیهوده نزنید که بیشتر فرو خواهید رفت: تنگه هرمز، فقط با «ترتیبات ایرانی» باز میشود نه با تهدیدات آمریکایی.
Ghalibaf’s fiery remarks come in the immediate aftermath of Iran’s large-scale retaliatory attacks on American military installations across Kuwait and Bahrain. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) confirmed that its forces targeted infrastructure and vital facilities at Camp Arifjan and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, as well as Juffair and Sheikh Isa Air Bases in Bahrain. The IRGC further warned that any additional US aggression would trigger an expansion of attacks to include other American bases throughout the region.
The Iranian strikes were launched in response to what Tehran describes as the most extensive U.S. assault against Iranian territory since the signing of the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding between the two nations. Washington’s strikes reportedly targeted several areas in Iran’s southern coastal provinces and two bridges in the eastern provinces leading to the city of Mashhad a move Iranian officials characterized as an attempt to divert attention from national commemorative events.
Ghalibaf concluded by asserting that the United States has consistently failed to learn a fundamental lesson: “bullying and breaking promises will not go unpunished.”
Source: Agencies (translated and edited by Al-Manar)