Iran's Guards threatens to block oil shipments in Gulf
An Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander said on Wednesday that Tehran will block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf if the United States bans Iranian oil sales, Reuters reports.
“If they want to stop Iranian oil exports, we will not allow any oil shipment to pass through the Strait of Hormuz,” Ismail Kowsari was quoted as saying by the Young Journalists Club (YJC) website.
Earlier, Tehran’s representative at OPEC Hussein Kazempur Ardebili warned that Washington’s effort to block Iranian oil exports would backfire forcing American citizens to pay the price for President Trump’s policy, according to Sputnik.
On July 2, Brian Hook, the State Department's director of policy planning reaffirmed the Trump administration's goal of reducing Iran's oil exports to zero by November.
On May 8, President Donald Trump fulfilled an election campaign promise to pull out of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal agreed between Iran and world powers, that imposed strict curbs on Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for the loosening of economic sanctions.
President Trump promised to re-impose sanctions on Tehran and add new ones.