Iran says Strait of Hormuz security comes at a cost
Iran’s Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref has said that providing security in the Strait of Hormuz “is not free”, warning that restrictions on Iran’s oil exports would have wider consequences.
“You cannot restrict Iran’s oil exports and expect free security for others,” Aref said in a post on X, News.Az reports, citing Iran’s English-language Press TV.
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“The choice is clear: either a free oil market for everyone, or the risk of significant costs for everyone,” he added.
The vice president said global fuel price stability depends on a guaranteed and sustainable end to economic and military pressure on Iran and its allies.
On Saturday, Aref reiterated that management of the Strait of Hormuz lies with Iran and constitutes a legal right of the Islamic Republic.
His remarks came after the United States carried out what Press TV described as a “flagrant act of aggression” against an Iranian merchant vessel in the waters of the Sea of Oman, deploying marines on to the ship’s deck and disabling its navigation systems.
In response, Iranian forces targeted several US military vessels in the area with drone strikes.
On Friday, Iran said the strait was open to commercial shipping, weeks after it had been closed to vessels linked to the United States and its allies following what Tehran described as an unprovoked war of aggression against the Islamic Republic on 28 February.
However, the IRGC Navy said in a statement on Saturday that Iran had again closed the Strait of Hormuz after the United States chose to maintain its blockade of Iranian ports, in violation of the terms of a two-week ceasefire announced by US President Donald Trump.
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