Ghalibaf says U.S. inflation expectations depend on Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb
Iran’s parliament speaker argued that interest-rate changes cannot offset what he described as energy-supply shocks linked to the two strategic waterways.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf said interest-rate policy cannot by itself manage U.S. inflation expectations, arguing that risks linked to the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb are more decisive. His comments were reported by IRNA and were not independently confirmed in the supplied evidence.
TEHRAN — Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf said changes in interest rates would not be sufficient to manage inflation expectations in the United States, arguing that geopolitical risks and energy-supply disruptions were now more influential.
In a post on X, cited by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency, Ghalibaf questioned whether the U.S. Federal Reserve could reopen the Strait of Hormuz or produce additional oil by raising interest rates. He said inflation expectations were being affected by what he described as a supply-side shock resulting from the closure of energy chokepoints, specifically the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb.
Ghalibaf argued that the so-called “Strait of Hormuz risk” was determining market rates and claimed that control of this risk was currently in Iran’s hands. He said economic policymakers needed to account for geopolitical variables alongside traditional tools such as interest rates.
He also described the traditional approach of anchoring inflation expectations through interest-rate adjustments as inadequate under current conditions, asserting that inflation in the United States would remain difficult to control until the situation changed.
The statements were reported by IRNA and reflect Ghalibaf’s assessment; the supplied report did not provide independent confirmation of the claimed closures or their effects on U.S. inflation expectations.