Rouhani's Renewed Threat to Prevent Oil Exports from the Persian Gulf

Hassan Rouhani, the President of Iran, on Tuesday, December 3, during a trip to Shahroud, once again indirectly threatened that if Iran is unable to export its oil, it will close the Strait of Hormuz. Rouhani, referring to the increasing threats and pressures from the United States government on the Islamic Republic, stated to America that Iran will continue to export its oil despite sanctions and pressures. The official news agency IRNA quoted the Iranian President as saying: 'America should know that we will sell our oil and we will continue to do so, and it cannot stop Iran's oil exports; it must understand that if it ever tries to stop Iran's oil, no oil will be exported from the Persian Gulf.' On July 2, Rouhani had also threatened that if Iran's oil is not allowed to be exported, then oil from other countries should not be exported from the Persian Gulf either. This threatening tone received praise from Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, and Rouhani reiterated his threat in other statements, saying, 'We have many straits; the Strait of Hormuz is just one of them.' He also warned the U.S. President: 'Don't play with the lion's tail; it is regrettable.' These remarks from Rouhani came after tensions between Iran and the U.S. escalated, coinciding with Houthi rebels in Yemen targeting two Saudi oil tankers in the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, which led Saudi Arabia to temporarily halt oil exports from that strait. Following this incident, Nasser Shabani, head of the Security and Defense Research Center at Imam Hussein University, controversially stated on August 6 that the Islamic Republic had asked the Yemeni rebels to attack the two Saudi oil tankers, and they did so. After these developments and other threats from Islamic Republic officials, Admiral John Richardson, the U.S. Navy's operational commander, warned Iran that the United States would maintain the freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz by force if necessary. In response, the leader of the Islamic Republic on Wednesday, December 7, called on the commanders of the Iranian Navy to increase their 'capability and readiness' so that 'enemies do not dare to threaten the Iranian nation.' Rouhani also stated on Tuesday that 'America is trying to separate Europe, China, and India from Iran; America is trying to separate Iran's neighbors from Iran and promote Iranophobia in the region, but we are not and will not be enemies of any of our neighboring nations.' Rouhani's assertion that 'we are not enemies of any of our neighboring nations' comes at a time when Saudi Arabia and several other Gulf countries accuse Iran of 'destabilizing' the region and of interventionist policies. While the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA has had a significant negative impact on Iran's economy, with officials reporting a '70 percent increase' in the prices of essential goods in Iran over the past year, Rouhani continued his remarks on Tuesday by saying that 'the government guarantees essential goods for the people at reasonable prices in the 98 budget.' He reiterated, 'I say again that the country is not in crisis and will not be; hyperinflation and hyper-unemployment will not threaten us,' adding that 'the salaries of all retirees and wage earners will increase by 20 percent.' Rouhani's statements regarding the absence of 'hyperinflation' come as the Central Bank reported that the point-to-point inflation rate in November reached 39.9 percent, which is a three percentage point increase compared to the 36.9 percent point-to-point inflation rate in October.