Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf calls for 10 percent cut in winter gas use

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Islamic Republic's parliament, on Sunday 25 October 2026 urged people in a pre-agenda speech to cut gas consumption across the country by at least 10 percent, saying that getting through the coming winter requires a "national mobilisation". He proposed that the savings from lower gas use be paid into citizens' bank accounts.

The request comes after Mohammad Reza Aref, Masoud Pezeshkian's first vice president, warned earlier that because of war damage Iran's gas shortfall this winter will be between 100 and 250 million cubic metres a day. In Shahrivar (August–September), after the Islamic Republic proved unable to import fuel under the US naval blockade, Ghalibaf had also asked people to use less petrol.

Threats against the US in the same speech

In the same speech, Ghalibaf responded to US threats and said the Islamic Republic would give "a response beyond their imagination" to any attack. He added that threats of all-out war or assassination would not make Tehran back down from its positions and that the US has no credibility until it makes up for the commitments it broke. The remarks come a day after he cancelled his trip to India for the BRICS meeting, and at the same time as Abbas Araghchi said that the Strait of Hormuz will not return to its pre-war state.

The cost of war on the people's shoulders

In the same speech the parliament speaker welcomed a 50 percent increase in the value of the kalabarg goods voucher for some citizens; amid high prices and shortages of medicine and goods, the voucher has become the only way for many families to meet their basic needs. The call to save gas, after months of power cuts and petrol restrictions, once again places the cost of the Islamic Republic's war policy on the people, while the same officials speak of continuing the confrontation.

The speaker of the Islamic Republic's parliament asked people to use less gas this winter while threatening the US.