An Iranian Revolutionary Guards spokesperson on Tuesday, Sept. 29, labeled U.S. President Donald Trump a “big liar,” accusing the American administration of obscuring the realities of Iran’s nuclear program and masking the true conditions of energy transit in the Persian Gulf. The sharp rhetoric from Tehran comes amid an ongoing confrontation over regional waterways.
Challenging the Narrative on Nuclear Intentions and Regional Dominance
Speaking in Tehran during a press briefing, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi pushed back directly against the justifications offered by Washington for military action. President Trump has repeatedly pointed to the necessity of halting Tehran’s path toward a nuclear weapon as a central driver of the current conflict.
“The enemy (US) knows that Iran is not after nuclear weapons,” Mohebbi said during the press conference. He argued that the strategic friction between the two nations stems from a broader geopolitical contest rather than atomic ambitions, asserting that Washington’s real grievance is “its vastness, which they want to destroy.”
The Battle for the Strait of Hormuz
The exchange also highlighted a sharp disagreement over control of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global choke point for petroleum shipments. The U.S. military has successfully eroded Iran's ability to influence activities in the waterway by escorting select commercial tankers through the corridor.
Mohebbi dismissed those assertions as misleading propaganda. “The fact that the Americans might manage, at great expense, considerable trouble, and high risk to sneak a small vessel through the Strait of Hormuz under cover of darkness to export, say, 100 or 200 barrels of oil does not mean the Strait is open,” he stated.
Despite the severe tensions and the ongoing naval standoff, shipping data indicates a partial revival in maritime trade. According to Kpler data, oil exports traversing the Strait of Hormuz have rebounded through September, tracking toward nearly 10 million barrels per day. While substantial, that volume is roughly half of pre-war levels, highlighting the significant economic burden of the sustained regional conflict.
