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'Economic suicide': US on possible Strait of Hormuz closure by Iran
Rubia called on China to encourage Iran not to shut down the Strait of Hormuz after Washington carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday reacted to reports claiming that the Iranian parliament has approved a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz, saying that it would be an “economic suicide”.
Speaking at Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo" show, Rubia called on China to encourage Iran not to shut down the Strait of Hormuz after Washington carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Follow LIVE updates here.
The Strait of Hormuz is situated between Iran and its Arabian Gulf neighbours. According to Bloomberg, this route enables the daily transportation of roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies.
"I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil," Rubio was quoted as saying on the show by Reuters.
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"If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake. It's economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries' economies a lot worse than ours."
The secretary of state additionally cautioned that closing the strait would represent a significant escalation, warranting a response from the US and others.
Iran's closure of Strait of Hormuz
After the US airstrikes on its nuclear installations, Iran is considering closing the Strait of Hormuz, EuroNews reported on Sunday.
In an interview with local media, Revolutionary Guard commander Sardar Esmail Kowsari stated that closing the Strait of Hormuz "is under consideration, and Iran will make the best decision with determination," according to EuroNews.
"Our hands are wide open when it comes to punishing the enemy, and the military response was only part of our overall response," added Kowsari, who is a member of the Iranian parliament in addition to his military position.
