Iran to deny Hormuz oil to war engines

An Iranian navy vessel launches a missile during the Velayat 90 drills at the sea of Oman, on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/218869.html

A senior Iranian lawmaker says the country will not allow any oil to reach the “war engines of Iran's enemies” through the Strait of Hormuz if its oil is subjected to sanctions.

“Iran will never allow the Strait [of Hormuz] to be used against it and for the benefit of its enemies,” Head of Majlis Internal Security Committee Parviz Sorouri said on Sunday.

Sorouri added that Iran considers the strategic waterway as a “Strait of Peace,” but would undertake any “fundamental measures” to ensure the security of itself and the entire region.

He went on to say that the US is currently pursuing the project of “Iranophobia,” as the recent developments in the Middle East have led to the “divergence of regional counties from the US and a convergence with the Islamic Republic.”

Last Wednesday, Michael Mann, the spokesman for EU's Foreign Affairs Chief Catherine Ashton, said, "The European Union is considering another set of sanctions against Iran.”

He added that the decision would be taken in the next meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on January 30, 2012.

The EU foreign ministers failed in their attempts to enforce an embargo on Iran's oil exports during a December 1 meeting in Brussels.

The EU's anti-Iran move came after the United States, Britain, and Canada imposed unilateral sanctions on the Islamic Republic's energy and financial sectors over Tehran's nuclear program.

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi warned on December 27 that imposing sanctions against the country's energy sector will prompt Tehran to prevent oil cargoes from passing through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

“If they impose sanctions on Iran's oil, not even a drop of oil will be allowed through the Strait of Hormuz,” he warned.

Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari also announced last Wednesday that the country's naval forces can readily block the strategic Strait of Hormuz if need be.

The US, Israel, and their allies accuse Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program and have used this allegation as a pretext to convince the UN Security Council to impose four rounds of sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Iran has refuted the allegations, arguing that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.