Iran threatens retaliation as US-Iran tensions send oil prices seesawing

Iran has issued a direct threat of a painful response should the United States resume military strikes on Iranian territory, escalating an already volatile diplomatic and security standoff that has sent global oil prices into sharp oscillation. The warning marks one of Tehran's most explicit retaliatory postures in the current cycle of US-Iran tensions.

Oil markets reacted immediately to the threat, with prices swinging in both directions as traders weighed the risk of supply disruption in a region that accounts for a substantial share of global petroleum output and export flows. The Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant percentage of the world's seaborne oil passes, remains central to market anxiety in any escalation scenario.

The development compounds uncertainty already present in global energy markets, which have been contending with demand softness from major economies and geopolitical instability across multiple producing regions. For Pakistan, which imports petroleum products and is sensitive to global price shocks, sustained oil price volatility represents a direct risk to the import bill and energy cost structure.

Analysts cautioned that unless diplomatic channels produce a de-escalation framework, the current rhetorical exchange between Washington and Tehran could deepen market instability and raise the risk premium on crude benchmarks in the near term.