WANA (Sep 06) – Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has responded sarcastically to U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s remarks that global oil prices could fall to $40 a barrel after the war with Iran ends, pointing to a series of economic challenges facing the United States.

 

Ghalibaf highlighted rising U.S. diesel prices, large-scale sales of U.S. Treasury securities by Japan and Norway, and growing concerns over inflation and interest rates, telling Bessent to “warm up properly before you take off.”

 

He also pointed to Norway’s reported sale of around $80 billion in U.S. Treasury securities, arguing that the economic policies of Japan and Norway were putting additional pressure on the dollar.

 

The Iranian parliament speaker also referred to a decline in military recruitment in the United States, saying the country was facing a shortage of personnel. He sarcastically suggested that Washington could consider proposals to attract young Americans to the military in exchange for debt relief.

 

Ghalibaf further pointed to warnings from Federal Reserve policymakers about the outlook for inflation and the possibility of higher interest rates, describing the concerns as being at odds with the policies of the U.S. Treasury.

 

His remarks came in response to Bessent, who said he hoped global oil prices would fall to around $40 per barrel once the war with Iran ends.