THE DAILY TELEGRAPH: The US military has warned that it will not tolerate any attempt by Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow sea lane on which the world's oil supply depends.
"The free flow of goods and services through the Strait of Hormuz is vital to regional and global prosperity," said a spokeswoman for the US Navy's Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet. "Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations; any disruption will not be tolerated."
The unusually blunt statement came in response to threats by Iran to shut the channel if the West pressed ahead with sanctions on the country's oil industry.
Mohammed Reza Rahimi, Iran's vice-president, told state media on Tuesday: " “If sanctions are adopted against Iranian oil, not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz. [Our] enemies will only abandon their plots when we give them a strong lesson."
Admiral Habibollah Sayari, commander of the Iranian navy, said that closing the Strait, and effectively strangling the global oil supply, would "be easier than drinking a glass of water". (+ video) » | Raf Sanchez, Washington | Wednesday, December 28, 2011
