Iran Says Will Fire at Ships Trying to Pass Through Strait of Hormuz

AP

The aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower crosses the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf.

A commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said the Strait of Hormuz is closed and warned that any vessel attempting to pass through will be attacked, according to Iranian state media.

“The strait is closed. If anyone tries to pass, the heroes of the Revolutionary Guard and the regular navy will set those ships ablaze,” Ebrahim Jabari, a senior adviser to the IRGC’s commander-in-chief, said on Monday.

Tehran has targeted infrastructure critical to the world’s energy production as part of its retaliation for the Israeli and U.S. bombing campaign that began on Saturday and killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior officials.

“We will also attack oil pipelines and will not allow a single drop of oil to leave the region. Oil price will reach $200 in the coming days,” Jabbari said in a post on the IRGC’s Telegram channel.

“The Americans, with debts of thousands of billions of dollars, are dependent on the region’s oil, but they should know that not even a drop of oil will reach them,” he was also quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

The Strait of Hormuz — widely regarded as the world’s most vital oil export route — connects major Gulf producers including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

The reported closure followed U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran on 28 February, aimed at weakening the country’s leadership. U.S. President Donald Trump publicly stated that Washington would support the Iranian people in efforts to remove the ruling clerical establishment.

In response, Iran launched multiple missile barrages targeting Gulf countries hosting U.S. military bases, including Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. Additional strikes were reported against the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Oman.

Approximately 20% of global daily oil consumption passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which is around 33 kilometres (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point, making it one of the most strategically sensitive maritime chokepoints in the world.

Source: Reuters



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