Speaker of Iran's Parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, warned that US "theatrics" and pressure tactics, including purported naval blockades, might prompt more "surprising" reactions, indicating a planned military readiness to "teach a lesson" to any aggressor.
Ghalibaf charged that the United States was using threats to turn talks into surrender, endangering regional stability, amid rising tensions.
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Following reports that yields on 30-year US Treasury bonds have risen above 5% for the first time since before the 2008 global financial crisis due to growing worries about inflation and war-related energy prices, Ghalibaf made the comments in a post on X on Thursday.
"So you're funding Hegseth, the failed TV host at rates unheard of since 2007, so he can cosplay as Secretary of War in our backyard in Hormuz? You know what's crazier than $39 trillion in debt? Paying a pre-GFC premium to fund a LARP and all you'll get is a brand new GFC," Ghalibaf posted on his X handle.
The top lawmaker pointed out that the US's ongoing belligerent stance, at exorbitant expenditures, only served as a "live action role-playing (LARP)" in the Hormuz and that the country's budget crisis had led to mounting debt. Is there anything more absurd than $39 trillion in debt? "Funding a LARP with a premium paid before the global financial crisis will only result in a new GFC," he said.
Iran started enforcing much more stringent regulations over the waterway after closing the strait to adversaries and their allies in retribution for the American-Israeli assault that targeted Iran from February 28 to April 7.
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The Islamic Republic has declined to resume talks with Washington unless Tehran's demands—such as the lifting of the blockade, the achievement of a final stop to all forms of aggression, and the payment of compensation—are satisfied.
Iran's armed forces are ready to respond "deservedly" to any act of aggression, according to Ghalibaf's statement in mid-May 2026.
Early in April, he also issued a warning that the continued "dangerous games" by the United States' could cause the "whole region to burn."
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