An Iranian daily, Khorasan on Jan. 8 quoted a senior commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as saying that Tehran’s leadership has decided to order the closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf if the country’s oil exports are blocked. Ali Ashraf Nouri said the strategic decision had been made by Iran’s top authorities. Iranian politicians have made the threat in the past, but this is the strongest statement yet that a closure of the strait is official policy.
The United States has recently enacted new sanctions targeting Iran’s central bank and its ability to sell petroleum abroad over Tehran’s nuclear programme. Washington says Tehran is trying to develop weapons, while Iran denies the charges. On Jan. 5, Iran said it was planning new military exercises near the strategic strait. One sixth of the world’s oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz. The semi-official Fars news agency quoted the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ naval commander, Adm. Ali Fadavi, as saying that the upcoming exercise would be the seventh staging of an annual drill called “The Great Prophet.”