Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared on 28 August that either all Persian Gulf countries will be allowed to export oil freely or none will, adding that the security of West Asia depends on the withdrawal of US forces.
"The equation of this war is clear: either all or none!" Ghalibaf said, adding, "In a region where we don’t sell oil, no one else will sell oil either." The speaker emphasized further, "If our security is not ensured, no infrastructure will be safe."
via Associated Pre“Security of the strait depends on the absence of US forces. We have said many times that the situation in the strait will not return to what it was before the war.”
The comments came in response to claims by US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Admiral Brad Cooper that US forces had seized full control of the Strait of Hormuz and halted Iranian oil exports.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement issued the same day, urged all states to refuse to enforce a new US sanctions package the same day, warning that compliance makes a government complicit in violating international law and the sovereign equality of states.
Washington unveiled the measures under the name “Operation Economic Outcast” after failing to reach its war aims against Iran with military force.
The ministry condemned the package as economic terrorism, stating that it revealed “the criminal intent of those who designed and implemented it to inflict suffering on the Iranian people and deprive Iranian citizens of their fundamental human rights; therefore, it is tantamount to an international crime and a crime against humanity.”
It said the US was weaponizing the dollar to pressure other governments into backing its policies on Iran, in breach of the UN Charter and the principle of non-intervention.
Tehran also said the sanctions defy the International Court of Justice (ICJ) order of October 3, 2018 requiring Washington to lift barriers to the flow of food, medicine, and medical equipment.
The ministry tied the economic war to the broader US-Israeli offensive against Iran over the past year and a half, and said the failure of the UN and its members to confront those violations has produced “a highly dangerous pattern of lawlessness.”
Senator Kennedy floats the possibility of US pulling out of the Iran war while leaving the Strait of Hormuz closed
It would certainly be an option at some point, now that we've accomplished most of our goals, for us to come home. The president's critics will say, but the Strait… pic.twitter.com/qVdb40yHvp
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi previously said that Trump's “Economic D-Day” campaign would deliver Washington nothing but further defeat, calling it a distraction from a US debt crisis that hit a record $40 trillion this month.
Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the turn to economic war followed Washington's failure to achieve its military objectives, and that the US was now begging its allies for help while claiming Iran was on the brink of collapse.
Tyler Durden Sat, 08/29/2026 - 09:20Gas prices have climbed sharply across the U.S. following the outbreak of the Iran War, but the size of the increase varies significantly by state.
Using AAA price data from February 18, 2026, as a pre-war baseline and prices as of August 20, 2026, this visualization, via Visual Capitalist's Sofie Gilbert, maps the percentage increase across all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Which States Saw the Biggest Gas Price IncreasesIowa has seen the largest percentage increase in the country, with gas prices jumping 69.1% from $2.45 to $4.14 per gallon. Oklahoma follows closely at 68.8%, while Colorado, Minnesota, and Wyoming have each seen increases of more than 60%.
Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Kansas round out the top 10, each up more than 57%.
The table below shows the full breakdown of price changes by state, sorted from largest to smallest percentage change.
StatePre-War PriceMany of the states with the largest percentage increases started from relatively low pre-war prices, which magnified the percentage change as crude prices rose.
Oklahoma, for example, had the lowest baseline price in the country at $2.29 per gallon and has since climbed nearly 69%.
How Much More Americans Are Paying at the PumpAcross the country, the average increase works out to roughly $1.25 per gallon, or about 44% from the pre-war baseline.
That translates to an extra $15 for a 12-gallon fill-up. At roughly 450 gallons of fuel consumed per vehicle each year, based on Federal Highway Administration data, a sustained $1.25-per-gallon increase would add about $560 to annual fuel costs.
The increases followed a major global oil supply disruption after the Iran War closed the Strait of Hormuz, pushing oil prices sharply higher as roughly 10 million barrels per day were taken off the market.
The impact extends well beyond the pump. As a single barrel of oil feeds thousands of everyday products, from plastics to pharmaceuticals, higher crude prices can ripple across the broader economy.
Why the Least Affected States Still Pay the MostThe states with the smallest percentage increases were largely those already paying the most. High fuel taxes and climate-related fuel policies, including carbon pricing programs in California and Washington, help keep baseline prices elevated.
California also uses a state-mandated fuel blend that cannot easily be supplemented with gasoline from outside the state.
Hawaii faces a different constraint: as an island chain with no pipeline access, its fuel must be shipped in, adding a persistent logistical premium to each gallon.
California saw the smallest increase at 21.8%, followed by Hawaii at 23.4% and Washington at 25.7%. Yet all three remain the most expensive states in the country, at $5.59, $5.43, and $5.24 per gallon, respectively.
If you enjoyed this graphic, check out Charted: The World’s Biggest Oil Producers on Voronoi.
Tyler Durden Sat, 08/29/2026 - 08:45