Iran Clings On To A Defiant Tone. Is A Language Of Desperation Peeping Out?

Iran has not deviated from the language of defiance as the protracted Middle East conflict with US continues without an end in sight. But reading between the words, a tone of desperation is setting in.

Tehran's "proportionate responses" to the US attacks are over, the country's parliament speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday, CNBC reported.

Ghalibaf continued playing up to a perceived gallery of ordinary Iranians who have been swept by the misery of war.

"If they haven't understood by now, they should understand before it's too late that the rules of the game have changed and that from now on, any violation of Iran's interests and security will receive a 'faster, heavier, and more painful' response," Ghalibaf's Telegram post proclaimed, referring to the Trump administration's retaliatory attacks.

Then came the tacit admission of Iran's own political and economic misery. Ghalibaf did not conceal that alongside the military conflict, the Islamic Republic also faces severe economic pressures.

"Severe fluctuations in the exchange rate, inflation, unemployment, and market management are fundamental challenges that have put serious pressure on people's livelihoods," the parliament speaker said.

In a rare instance of looking inwards during war-time communication, he said Iran needs to boost domestic production and use technology to "devise short-term and permanent solutions."

The admission that deftly packaged the economic misery inside a defiant tone is perhaps an acknowledgement by the regime that its citizens could be getting more and more frustrated by the endless contours of the war. The Iranian regime also perhaps fears an uprising if the misery mounts.

Ghalibaf's remarks came after US forces reportedly struck three Iranian crude oil carriers. The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said it permanently disabled one crude oil vessel off the coast of Kharg Island and one near Jask. Another oil tanker was attacked in the Gulf of Oman.

The CENTCOM claims its attacks were in retaliation for ballistic missiles launched by Tehran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) toward two Navy warships in the region.

Admiral Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander, said in a statement that the US forces "will not hesitate" to defend and "if necessary, destroy Iran's limited and exposed oil fleet."

These attacks and retaliatory strikes have stoked inflationary concerns in Iran, the US and all over the world as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has come to a trickle.

Iran is the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting ‌Countries and exported 90% of its crude via Kharg Island before the war.

The US has enforced a naval blockade against Iran since April, disrupting Iranian oil exports.

A fifth of the world's energy cargoes passed through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway, before the American and Israeli airstrikes on February 28 triggered the Middle East conflict.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to seize Kharg Island as Washington continued military strikes against Tehran.

The US has also announced a raft of economic sanctions on forces facilitating Iranian businesses with the aim of squeezing Iran financially.

The latest US strikes also came a day after the Treasury Department announced sanctions against a small Turkish investment bank and two of its subsidiaries. Washington believes the bank facilitates funds for a wing of the hardline IRGC.

Ghalibaf's latest admission of internal issues is not the first time a top Iranian leader has acknowledged Iran's mounting economic and military woes.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian admitted in August that the country's trade has fallen sharply.

Tehran's gross domestic product is reportedly estimated to have contracted by 2.7% in the year ending March, according to the World Bank.

Inflation has surged to uncountable levels. Iran's own internal estimate counts a loss of one million jobs.

Ghalibaf and Pezeshkian need not look elsewhere to see the trouble that is brewing.