Iran MP Threatens to Block Regional Oil Exports if Tehran Cut Off

An Iranian lawmaker warned on Sunday that Tehran would stop other countries from exporting oil through the region if Iran could no longer ship its own crude and petroleum products, according to Iran International’s live coverage.

Abdolhossein Hemmati, secretary of parliament’s Energy Committee, also said Iran would try to push global oil prices above $110 a barrel, arguing that regional conditions and disruptions to energy transport routes could drive prices higher, Iran International reported.

Warning tied to US blockade pressure

The comments land as Washington’s naval blockade and sanctions campaign have squeezed Iranian oil revenue. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said over the weekend that Iran would have no oil cargoes on the water this week and therefore no revenue from such shipments, according to earlier reporting carried by Iran International and other outlets.

Tehran continues to insist the Strait of Hormuz will not reopen until the United States meets conditions linked to a June memorandum, including an end to hostilities and economic pressure. Iranian officials have repeatedly framed control of regional energy routes as leverage while commercial traffic remains heavily disrupted.

Hormuz and markets already under strain

About a fifth of the world’s oil and gas moved through the Strait of Hormuz in peacetime before the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28. Attacks on commercial vessels in and around the waterway have continued in recent days. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said Sunday that four vessel strikes by unknown projectiles had been reported in the strait from October 1 to 4, according to Iran International.

Hemmati’s remarks were carried as an exclusive live-blog update by Iran International and had not been independently corroborated by a second major international wire at the time of writing. The Candor Post attributes the warning solely to that report of his comments.

No confirmed shift in official policy

Hemmati spoke as secretary of a parliamentary energy panel, not as a cabinet minister or designated negotiator. Iran International did not report an immediate response from the Pezeshkian government, the US administration or OPEC partners.

Oil markets have already priced in prolonged Hormuz risk, with Brent crude hovering near or above $100 a barrel in recent sessions amid war and shipping disruption. Any attempt to halt broader regional exports would mark a sharp escalation beyond Iran’s existing restrictions on the strait, but no such blockade of third-country shipments has been confirmed.

The Candor Post will update if Hemmati’s warning is repeated by a cabinet official, carried by a second trusted outlet, or followed by a concrete maritime measure.