'The world's already got its popcorn': Iran's Ghalibaf mocks Bessent over US oil reserves

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Friday took a sarcastic jab at US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent over Washington's handling of the fallout from the West Asia conflict. The jab comes amid weeks of escalating US-Iran tensions that have kept global oil markets on edge.

Washington has been running an aggressive sanctions and pressure campaign against Tehran — at one point dubbed "Economic D-Day" by the US administration — aimed at squeezing Iran's oil exports and finances.

Sharing a photoshopped Wile E. Coyote meme with the caption 'You are here, cutie', Ghalibaf made cryptic references to the Strategic Petroleum Reserve caverns at Bryan Mound. He warned Washington after draining the SPR below a "danger zone", saying it could put the underground salt caverns at risk of collapse.

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He wrote, "Short harder, champ. Like your career depends on it (because it does). Or drain below the danger zone and watch your caverns collapse (along with your career). Or pray to the salt gods of Bryan Mound. The world's already got its popcorn."

US SPR capacity

The US Department of Energy said that the reserve comprises 60 underground caverns across 4 sites, with individual caverns capable of holding millions of barrels of crude. In the final week of August, the US SPR fell by another 3.1 million barrels to 286.6 million barrels, its lowest since November 1982 and roughly 40% of total capacity.

The US is set to release another 39 million barrels, which could bring crude in the reserve down to 243 million barrels, Reuters reported. This will be a dangerous situation, as the generally accepted operational minimum for oil in the SPR is between 250 and 300 million barrels, below which the reserve might find it difficult to pump and process oil efficiently.

Global crude oil prices today

At the time of writing, Brent crude oil neared $96 per barrel, with the latest price at $95.86 a barrel. US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude stood at $91.87 a barrel.

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Is Ghalibaf only taking shots at US oil reserves?

By referencing the US 10-year Treasury yield alongside crude futures and SPR data, he connected the energy crisis with America's borrowing costs. Long-term US yields have remained elevated, with Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller saying that there is no more premium for safe, liquid US government debt.

At a Reuters NEXT Newsmaker event on Thursday, Waller said he has been anxious for a long time that, "There's ‌no more premium for safe, liquid U.S. government ⁠debt."

"And that has been leading me to raise my neutral rate estimate, which means higher policy rates for any given rate of inflation — maybe you're not as restrictive as you thought you were," he added.