Iran's Ghalibaf says they are at the highest level of defensive readiness. Adds, the ball is in the US' court

Iran's Ghalibaf says they are at the highest level of defensive readiness. Adds, the ball is in the US' court.

Readiness declarations of this kind from Tehran have historically been a standard feature of escalation cycles, typically paired with diplomatic off-ramps in the same breath, and the 'ball is in their court' framing fits that pattern: deterrence messaging rather than a signal of imminent action. Ghalibaf, as parliament speaker, sits outside the operational chain of command, which in past episodes has made such statements more rhetorical than executable; the weightier tells have come from the IRGC leadership or the supreme leader's office. The relevant distinction for markets is between rhetorical exchanges, which have tended to produce short-lived risk premia in crude and regional assets that fade once shipping and supply are unaffected, and episodes that touch physical flows, where the transmission channel is freight rates, insurance costs, and any disruption around key Gulf transit points. The follow-ons worth noting are any response from Washington, movement in regional force posture beyond statements, and whether other Iranian officials adopt or soften the tone. Absent a kinetic trigger, precedent argues this is noise within a familiar verbal cycle.