Iran says it may close a vital oil-trade route if the West imposes more sanctions over its controversial nuclear programme.

Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi warned that “not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz” if sanctions are widened.

Iran’s navy chief Admiral Habibollah Sayari later said closing the strait would be “easy”.

The US and its allies believe Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon.

Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes.
Oil and finance

Western nations recently unveiled new sanctions against Tehran following a UN report that said Iran had carried out tests related to “development of a nuclear device”.

Further measures being considered to target Iran’s oil and financial sectors have brought a furious response from Tehran.

“The enemies will only drop their plots when we put them back in their place,” Mr Rahimi was quoted as saying on Tuesday by the official news agency Irna.

Adm Sayari later told Iran’s Press TV that closing the Strait of Hormuz would be “really easy” for Iran’s armed forces “or as Iranians say, easier than drinking a glass of water”.

“But right now, we don’t need to shut it as we have the Sea of Oman under control, and we can control the transit,” he added.
US presence

The Strait of Hormuz links the Gulf – and the oil-producing states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – to the Indian Ocean. About 40% of the world’s tanker-borne oil passes through it. For more visit: BBC.com

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