DUBAI, March 12 (Reuters) – Ships must coordinate with Iran’s navy to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, the country’s Foreign Ministry spokesman said in comments carried by the Mehr news agency on Thursday.
Iran will keep fighting and keep the Strait of Hormuz closed as leverage against the United States and Israel, new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday, in the first defiant comments attributed to him since succeeding his slain father.
“The security of the Strait of Hormuz is of vital importance to Iran because the country’s security is linked to the security of the region. With the longest coastlines of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, Iran has always borne the costs of protecting this strategic waterway,” said Esmaeil Baghaei, the spokesperson.
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Khamenei also called on Iran’s neighbors to close US bases in their territories and warned that Iran will continue to attack them.
“The insecurity created in the region by the United States and the Zionist regime could affect the movement of ships. However, Iran does not want this strait to become unsafe, and ships must coordinate with the Iranian navy when passing through it so that maritime security is maintained,” Baghaei added.
The prospect that one of the most serious disruptions to global energy supplies could drag on has sent oil prices back above $100 per barrel, after falling earlier in the week on hopes of a quick end to the conflict.
