Amid promises by Tehran to retaliate for last week’s suspected Israeli airstrike on their diplomatic compound in Damascus, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps official threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz in the event of continued actions by the Jewish state.
Speaking to the state-funded ISNA news agency, the IRGC naval chief Alireza Tangsiri, explained that his government views the relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates as a threat to the regime and declared, “We can close the Hormuz Strait, but are not doing so. However, if the enemy comes to disrupt us, we will review our policy.”
"We know that the Zionists were not brought to the UAE for economic purposes but rather for security and military work. This is a threat to us and should not happen," he added.
The Commodore further warned that if certain U.S. vessels enter Iranian sections of the waterway, then it “will become unusable for several years.”
The Strait of Hormuz provides the only access to the open ocean from the Persian Gulf, providing a transit route for a third of the world’s liquefied natural gas and a quarter of its petroleum products.
The strategically important shipping lane separates the Islamic Republic from the UAE.
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