Iranian official rejects US claims of fuel shortages as “baseless lies”

• Ebrahim Azizi, head of the national security commission in Iran's Parliament, dismissed US claims of petrol queues as "nothing but baseless lies."
• The claims came from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who told the House Financial Services Committee on Sep. 15 that drivers faced three-to-four-hour waits after tighter sanctions.

A senior Iranian legislator has publicly denied Sunday assertions by a top American official that drivers in Iran are stuck in lengthy queues for petrol, calling the account "nothing but baseless lies."

Ebrahim Azizi, who chairs the national security commission in Iran's Parliament, responded to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on the social platform X. He also directed a warning at Washington: "Take this as a lesson and refrain from repeating your miscalculations, or else the victorious armed forces will give you an unforgettable lesson."

Azizi backed up his rebuttal by sharing a video from Iran Press. According to the outlet, motorists in the country were refuelling in "just three to four minutes rather than waiting for hours."

بار دیگر مشخص شد همه این "به اصطلاح" اطلاعات‌تان چیزی جز دروغ های بی اساس نیست.
درس عبرت بگیرید و از خطای محاسباتی مجدد پرهیز کنید وگرنه نیرو های پیروزِ مسلح، درسی فراموش نشدنی به شما خواهند داد. https://t.co/dJWXlm7Ojd

— ابراهیم عزیزی (@Ebrahimazizi33) September 17, 2026

The exchange traces back to testimony Bessent gave on Sep. 15 before the House Financial Services Committee. 

He told lawmakers that after the Treasury Department stepped up its economic sanctions on Iran, drivers there were facing waits of three to four hours at petrol stations.

Azizi's remarks mark a direct contradiction of Bessent's account, with each side presenting a sharply different picture of conditions at Iranian fuel pumps.

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