The Iranian Army has vowed to defend the country’s commercial shipping vessels from any potential threats after the US warned countries against allowing Iranian tankers into their territorial waters and ports.
Last week, Washington imposed a unilateral ban on the Iranian crude, shipping and banking industries after withdrawing from the 2015 international pact that aimed to curb Iran’s nuclear program. Earlier, the White House sanctioned Iran’s auto industry, carpets, metals trading and the country’s access to US dollars.
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“Iran’s armed forces... are prepared today as in the past to protect our fleet of oil tankers against any threats so that it can continue to use marine waterways,” Rear-Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, deputy commander of armed forces, told Iranian news agency ISNA, according to Reuters.
The Iranian response came days after the State Department’s special representative on Iran policy, Brian Hook, issued a warning over potential risks allegedly connected to dealing with Iranian shipping vessels. According to the official, Iran’s tankers will lose access to international insurers under the US restrictions, and thus will be a risk to ports and waterways.
Mousavi said that creating obstacles to transportation through international waterways would be unacceptable. “Iran’s armed forces have the preparedness to protect our commercial fleet... as they have in the past 40 years,” he said.
Washington also warned countries and port operators about potential sanctions in the event that they keep allowing Iranian ships access to international waterways and port facilities.
The head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization Mohammad Rastad said the Islamic Republic is planning file a complaint to the International Maritime Organization over “cruel US sanctions and restrictions on maritime transport.”
Tehran has also threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil shipping route, if Washington attempts to stop the Iranian oil exports. A third of the world’s sea-borne oil passes through the strategic artery. If the waterway were blocked, oil prices would rise dramatically.
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Source : RT Business News
Iran’s armed forces vow to protect oil tankers against US threat
Iran’s armed forces vow to protect oil tankers against US threat
