Iran steps up threats to shutter Strait of Hormuz
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Two Iranian lawmakers on Monday stepped up threats their country would shutter the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's crude flows, in retaliation for oil sanctions on Tehran.
By Eric S. Powell, AP
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier sailed Sunday through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf without incident to conduct scheduled maritime security operations, the Navy said.
The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier sailed Sunday through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf without incident to conduct scheduled maritime security operations, the Navy said.
The warnings came as EU nations agreed in Brussels on an oil embargo against Iran as part of sanctions over the country's controversial nuclear program. The measure includes an immediate embargo on new contracts for Iranian crude and petroleum products while existing ones are allowed to run until July.
Iran has repeatedly warned it would choke off the strait if sanctions affect its oil sales, and two lawmakers ratcheted up the rhetoric on Monday.
Lawmaker Mohammad Ismail Kowsari, deputy head of Iran's influential committee on national security, said the strait "would definitely be closed if the sale of Iranian oil is violated in any way."
Kowsari claimed that in case of the strait's closure, the U.S. and its allies would not be able to reopen the route, and warned America not to attempt any "military adventurism."
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