Iran Warns No Energy Infrastructure Will Be Safe If It Can't Sell Oil
Iran warned on Sept. 29 that energy infrastructure across the Middle East would be at risk if Tehran’s security interests are not guaranteed, escalating rhetoric while awaiting a U.S. reply to a plan it says would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps also published a letter to American voters blaming the United States for starting the war and outlining Iranian casualty figures.
Why It Matters
The Strait of Hormuz is a key conduit for global oil and gas flows, and Tehran’s threats to target regional energy infrastructure raise the prospect of wider disruption to shipping and energy markets. The exchange also comes as Washington weighs a response to Tehran’s proposal to lift restrictions in return for concessions on sanctions and military activity.
Key Facts
- Date of statement: September 29, 2026
- Speaker: Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, Iran's chief negotiator
- Threat: Attack energy infrastructure across the Middle East if Iran's security is not guaranteed
- IRGC action: Published a letter to American voters on September 29 blaming the U.S. for starting the war
- Casualty figures claimed by Tehran: More than 3,600 Iranians killed, mostly civilians including 400 children (per IRGC letter)
Iran intensified its warnings on September 29, saying that if Tehran cannot sell oil or have its security assured, it would consider energy infrastructure across the region to be legitimate targets. The statement, delivered by chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf in a video broadcast on state television, came as Tehran awaited an official U.S. response to a proposal it put forward last week to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran maintains it can control passage through the strait and has continued to target ships there even as air strikes between the parties have reportedly decreased in recent days. Before the outbreak of the war, the Strait of Hormuz carried roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supply, underscoring the potential market impact of any sustained disruption.
Tehran’s proposal would see the strait reopened and nuclear talks resumed within seven days, but it conditions those steps on Washington ending a naval blockade of vessels bound for Iran, lifting sanctions on Iranian oil sales, and reimposing a regional cease-fire. U.S. President Donald Trump publicly dismissed the plan, though he has also said he expects further discussions between American and Iranian negotiators this week.
Separately, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps addressed American voters in a letter also released on September 29, asserting that the United States initiated the war on February 28 and stating casualty figures for Iranians killed in the conflict. The letter acknowledged that air strikes have damaged parts of Iran’s nuclear industry and some air-defence sites and reiterated Tehran’s claim that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes. RFE/RL reported that the U.S. State Department had not immediately responded to requests for comment on the letter.
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