Iran 'to block Hormuz strait' if sanctions applied
AFP
27-Dec-2011

TEHRAN — No oil will be permitted to pass through the key oil transit
Strait of Hormuz if the West applies sanctions on Iran's oil exports,
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi warned on Tuesday.

The
threat was reported by the state news agency IRNA as Iran conducted
navy wargames near the Strait of Hormuz, at the entrance of the oil-rich
Gulf.

"If sanctions are adopted against Iranian oil, not a drop
of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz," Rahimi was quoted as
saying.

"We have no desire for hostilities or violence... but the
West doesn't want to go back on its plan" to impose sanctions, he said.

"The enemies will only drop their plots when we put them back in their place," he said.

The
threat underlined Iran's readiness to target the narrow stretch of
water along its Gulf coast if it is attacked or economically strangled
by Western sanctions.

More than a third of the world's tanker-borne oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States maintains a navy presence in the Gulf in large part to ensure that passage remains free.

Iran is currently carrying out navy exercises in international waters to the east of the Strait of Hormuz.

Ships and aircraft dropped mines in the sea Tuesday as part of the drill, according to a navy spokesman.

Although
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