Iran touts regional security bloc, alternative trade to blunt US pressure

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf dismissed the US administration's economic and foreign policy strategies as ineffective, with the Iran boomerang in motion. He criticized Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth for their incompetence in high-stakes diplomacy, suggesting they were "way out of their league" and not suited for such roles.

Ghalibaf derided the US's approach of resolving issues through "frozen" solutions like importing frozen meat for rising prices, asking what their plan was for bonds, import frozen yields, and frozen homebuyers. He warned that a frozen foreign policy would only result in a stagnant economy. Iran's latest diplomatic visit to Iraq was taken as an opportunity to rebuff the US's harshest financial sanctions, which the speaker dismissed as ineffective.

Instead of succumbing to pressure, Ghalibaf outlined Iran's plans to deepen economic ties with neighboring countries and move towards bilateral trade using national currencies rather than the US dollar. He announced that Tehran had received numerous messages from neighboring countries regarding a new, independent regional security order that bypasses US influence entirely.

Ghalibaf emphasized the importance of economic cooperation alongside security arrangements, with the proposed regional approach to the Strait of Hormuz being the foremost example.