Image by Amnesty International
A senior Iranian military official on Monday threatened to “set fire” to any ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway off Iran’s southern coast through which a fifth of the world’s oil passes.The threat made by Ibrahim Al-Jaabari, advisor to the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, comes at a time when most shipping companies have already stopped sending tankers through the strait, after the United States and Israel began their strikes on Iran on Saturday. Some tankers have already been attacked during the conflict, including a US Navy-flagged tanker on Monday that was docked in Bahrain. It was not clear who attacked the ship.
Iran closes the Strait of Hormuz in response to US-Israeli attacks; Global energy is in danger
“Not a single drop of oil will leave the region,” Al-Jaabari told Iranian television. Iran also said on Saturday that it would close the strait, even though some ships traveled through the waterway in the immediate aftermath of the US and Israeli attacks. The sharp decline in oil tanker traffic through the Strait raises concerns that much smaller quantities of oil and gas will reach global markets, leading to higher costs for both commodities.
A prolonged increase in oil prices could lead to higher gas prices for consumers.
