Qalibaf: The Strait of Hormuz Will Not Reopen

Echoing the late former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani’s use of his personal authority to empower Parliament, Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Qalibaf – the most strategically minded member of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s collective leadership – is increasingly emerging as first among equals. His August 18 statements suggest that he has no intention of relinquishing control over the Strait of Hormuz. At the same time, he is seeking to mitigate the economic pressure generated by the U.S. naval blockade, wagering that President Donald J. Trump will not want to enter U.S. midterm elections with the war against Iran still raging. The question is whether Qalibaf’s proposals concerning the electronic food-credit program and gasoline rationing can be implemented.

• August 18: Parliamentary Speaker Mohammad-Bagher Qalibaf, addressing an online session of the Iranian Parliament, was quoted in Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated Mashregh News Agency, saying:
  • “As we had predicted, the enemy – who had accepted the memorandum ending the war out of desperation – soon reneged on its commitments to compensate for its crushing political defeat. The time has therefore come for military action once again to complement diplomacy and provide a practical response to the enemy’s breach of its commitments, demonstrating to our adversaries that the Iranian nation, with unity, courage, and prudence, will not hesitate in the slightest to secure its rights.”
  • “Let me be clear: Until the United States fulfills its commitments under the memorandum – including lifting the blockade, releasing frozen assets, lifting oil sanctions, ending threats and military operations on all fronts, and implementing the other conditions to which it committed – the strait will not be reopened.”
  • “As I explained to the dear people of Iran, the enemy’s new strategy seeks to exert economic pressure and undermine national cohesion – a plan that U.S. government officials now openly acknowledge. By fomenting discontent and creating divisions within Iranian society, it hopes to prevail in a contest it has thus far clearly lost, both militarily and diplomatically … Accordingly, any individual or institution whose words, actions, or decisions cause public discontent or undermine the country’s national cohesion is – whether knowingly or unknowingly – playing into the enemy’s hands.”
  • “The most important duty incumbent upon us as the country’s officials – particularly the government’s executive managers – is to be at the forefront of efforts to resolve the people’s economic and livelihood problems and, while supporting the armed forces, minimize the pressures arising from the war. In this regard, all national, regional, and sectoral officials must be prohibited from taking actions that cause public discontent … One urgent measure that must be implemented as soon as possible is to change how the electronic food-credit program is administered or increase the credit available under it. This would strengthen people’s purchasing power, provide our fellow citizens with greater economic security, and constitute an effective step toward countering the enemy’s economic pressure and temporarily mitigating some shortcomings in government management … The enemy plans to exploit the government’s measures to reduce gasoline consumption. It is therefore essential that the fuel shortage be addressed through comprehensive and highly prudent planning … If, through careful planning and national cooperation, we can resolve the gasoline challenge, we will have an undeniable impact in frustrating the enemy’s latest scheme.”

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