Iran is ready if threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to ships linking the Gulf to international markets, Revolutionary Guards commander General Mohammad Ali Jafari told Mehr news agency Monday.
Iran
is
ready if threatened to close the
Strait of Hormuz
to
ships linking the Gulf to international markets, Revolutionary Guards commander
General Mohammad Ali Jafari told Mehr news agency Monday.
"In light of the strategic position of the
Strait
of Hormuz
, this issue has never been taken off the
agenda," Jafari said, commenting on whether
Tehran
was
still prepared to close down the shipping lane if threatened.
"We have not stopped there...we are seeking to use our defense
capabilities in open waters," Jafari added as forces under his command
prepared to launch the naval phase of the 10-day Great Prophet-6 exercise,
which lasts until Friday.
Media reported the Guards will launch surface-to-sea missiles Tuesday.
So far, during the drills, the Guards have launched a range of ballistic
missiles that
Iran
says
are able to hit
Israel
and
U.S.
bases
in the region.
"This means that should the enemy try to pose a threat against the Islamic
republic from outside the
Strait of Hormuz
, we
will have the power to retaliate in kind. This strategy is now on our
agenda," said Jafari.
Iran
's
arch foes the
U.S.
and
Israel
have
never ruled out the option of military strikes against
Iran
to
stop its nuclear program, which the West suspects masks a drive to develop
weapons of mass destruction despite
Iran
's
insistence of its peaceful intentions.
Iran
's
navy has only a few frigates and submarines on the high seas, but a year ago it
began to deploy them to the
Indian Ocean
, the
Gulf
of Aden
and even the
Red Sea
.
Iranian military officials have often warned of blocking the
Strait
of Hormuz
--the passage for 40% of the world's oil supplied by
sea--in case the country comes under attack.
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