Iran rejects ‘American dream’ of sacrificing defense to let US ‘seize oil fields in 48 hours’

Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf has said that the US could have rapidly seized Iran’s oil resources if Tehran had not invested in military capabilities, in a sharply worded response to comments by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

In a post on X, Qalibaf wrote that without spending on weapons, the US "could’ve gone in, seized all their oil fields in 48 hours… armed the Israelis with the best weapons, and created many, many new Gazas,” dismissing Rubio’s suggestion that Iran should prioritize domestic spending over defense.

“Imagine if instead of spending billions on weapons, Iran spent that money on its people. They’d have a much different country,” Rubio wrote.

Qalibaf dismissed the scenario an “American Dream” that would never realize.

“It would’ve been so beautiful... Then we could’ve gone in, seized all their oil fields in 48 hours -48 hours, believe me- armed the Israelis with the best weapons, and created many, many new Gazas. The real ‘American Dream,’ folks,” he said. “Never,” he wrote in all caps.

The terrorist war on Iran began on February 28, when the United States and Israel launched attacks on the country, including a carpet-bombing strike on a residence in central Tehran that martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.

The Islamic Republic responded forcefully, launching precision strikes on sensitive Israeli targets and US bases across the region, catching both sides by surprise.

Rubio said on Tuesday that Washington could see the “finish line” in the Iran war, ‌which is now in its fifth week, and the US will have to reexamine ‌ties with NATO after its unprovoked war.

“We can see the finish line. It’s not today, it’s not tomorrow, but it is coming,” Rubio told Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” show.

Joint US-Israeli strikes in Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands of civilians and also raised oil ⁠prices and shaken global markets.

President Donald Trump - who has offered shifting timelines and objectives for the war, ranging from toppling Iran’s government to weakening its military and regional ‌influence - said on Tuesday the US could end its military attacks on Iran within two to three weeks.

Rubio said “that there’s nothing any government is doing, or any country in the world is doing now to help Iran that is in any way impeding our mission.”

He added Washington will have to reexamine its relations with NATO after the war on Iran. “Ultimately, that’s a decision for the ‌president to make, and he’ll have to make it,” Rubio said.

“But I do think, unfortunately, we are going to have to reexamine whether or not this alliance that has served this country well for a while is ‌still serving that purpose, or has it now become a one-way street where America is simply in a position to defend Europe, but when we need the help of our allies, they’re going to deny us basing rights, and they’re going to deny us overflight,” he ‌added in reference to use of military bases.

European leaders have refused to get directly involved in military attacks against Iran.

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