By Xinhua,
Abu Dhabi : U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet Commander Kevin Cosgriff said Wednesday the United States will not allow Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz, which lies between Iran and the Arab Peninsula in the southeast of the Persian Gulf.
At a meeting of naval commanders of Gulf countries, Cosgriff said recent statements from Iranian officials that they would block trade passing through the Gulf if the country was attacked were an “international affront,” according to local news website thenational.ae.
“It is saying to the world that nearly 40 percent of the oil and a significant amount of natural gas that flows through the Strait (of Hormuz) is now held hostage by a single country,” the U.S. naval official said.
“I believe that Iran will not attempt to close the Strait of Hormuz. We will not allow them to close the Straight of Hormuz. I cannot say it any more clearly than that,” he added.
Commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari warned last month that Iran would impose controls on shipping in the Gulf oil transit route if it came under attack.
“Naturally when a country is attacked by an enemy, it will use all of its capabilities to confront the enemy,” Jafari said, adding that Iran “will definitely impose control” on the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.