Iran is prepared to block the Strait of Hormuz in response to international threats against Iranian security, Ali Fadavi, the navy commander for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, announced today.
Mehr News quotes the commander as saying that the Strait of Hormuz is under the complete control of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Close to half of the world’s oil supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman.
Iran has made similar threats in the past, forcing countries in the region to consider alternative routes for their oil exports.
Abu Dhabi has been building a vast oil port in the Gulf of Oman to eliminate its dependence on the Strait of Hormuz.
In 2008, NATO Commander Maurizio Gemignani insisted that Iran was unable to block the international passage, describing its threats as “a fantasy.”
Today, the Revolutionary Guards also announced mass production of ballistic missiles that can travel three times the speed of sound and hit targets on the high seas.
Commander Mohammad Ali Jafari told reporters the missiles are “undetectable and cannot be neutralized by enemies.”
He added that “enemy threats will likely come from the sea, air and by missile,” so the Revolutionary Guards have developed capabilities “to defuse the enemy’s advanced technology.”
Commander Jafari also denied recent allegations, contained in documents exposed by Wikileaks, that former U.S. FBI agent, Robert Levinson was imprisoned in Iran by the Revolutionary Guards.
He said: “Rest assured that if the Guards were to arrest one of our enemies, they would immediately announce it publicly.”
Retired FBI agent, Robert Levinson was last seen in March 2007 on Kish Island in Southern Iran.
