Iran's options against foreign aggression include closing Strait of Hormuz, lawmaker says
DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran could shut the Strait of Hormuz as a way of hitting back against its enemies, a senior lawmaker said on Thursday, though a second member of parliament said this would only happen if Tehran's vital interests were endangered.
Iran has in the past threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to traffic in retaliation for Western pressure, and shipping sources said on Wednesday that commercial ships were avoiding Iran's waters around the strait.
"Iran has numerous options to respond to its enemies and uses such options based on what the situation is," the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Behnam Saeedi, a member of the parliament's National Security Committee presidium as saying.
"Closing the Strait of Hormuz is one of the potential options for Iran," he said.
Mehr later quoted another lawmaker, Ali Yazdikhah, as saying Iran would continue to allow free shipping in the Strait and in the Gulf so long as its vital national interests were not at risk.
"If the United States officially and operationally enters the war in support of the Zionists (Israel), it is the legitimate right of Iran in view of pressuring the U.S. and Western countries to disrupt their oil trade's ease of transit," Yazdikhah said.
President Donald Trump is keeping the world guessing about whether the United States will join Israel's bombardment of Iranian nuclear sites.
Tehran has so far refrained from closing the Strait because all regional states and many other countries benefit from it, Yazdikhah added.
"It is better than no country supports Israel to confront Iran. Iran's enemies know well that we have tens of ways to make the Strait of Hormuz unsafe and this option is feasible for us," the parliamentarian said.
The Strait of Hormuz lies between Oman and Iran and is the primary export route for Gulf producers such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, and Kuwait.
About 20% of the world's daily oil consumption — around 18 million barrels — passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which is only about 33 km (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Like George W Bush did in Iraq, if Israel breaks Iran it will end up owning the chaos that could ensue
Israelis are good at tactics, poor at strategic vision, it has been observed. Their campaign against Iran may be a case in point. Short termism is understandable in a region that is so unpredictable. Why make elaborate plans if they are generally undone by unexpected events? It is a mindset that is familiar to anyone who has lived or worked there. And it informs policy-making. The Israeli offensive in Gaza is no exception. The Israeli government has never been clear how it will end or what happens the day after that in what remains of the coastal strip. Pressed privately, even senior advisers will admit they simply do not know. It may seem unfair to call a military operation against Iran that literally took decades of planning short-termist or purely tactical. There was clearly a strategy of astonishing sophistication behind a devastating campaign that has dismantled so much of the enemy's capability. But is there a strategic vision beyond that? That is what worries Israel's allies. It's not as if we've not been here before, time and time again. From Libya to Afghanistan and all points in between we have seen the chaos and carnage that follows governments being changed. Hundreds of thousands have died. Vast swathes of territory remain mired in turmoil or instability. Which is where a famous warning sign to American shoppers in the 80s and 90s comes in. Ahead of the disastrous invasion that would tear Iraq apart, America's defence secretary, Colin Powell, is said to have warned US president George W Bush of the "Pottery Barn rule". The Pottery Barn was an American furnishings store. Signs among its wares told clumsy customers: "You break it, you own it." Bush did not listen to Powell hard enough. His administration would end up breaking Iraq and owning the aftermath in a bloody debacle lasting years. Israel is not invading Iran, but it is bombing it back to the 80s, or even the 70s, because it is calling for the fall of the government that came to power at the end of that decade. Iran's leadership is proving resilient so far but we are just a week in. It is a country of 90 million, already riven with social and political discontent. Its system of government is based on factional competition, in which paranoia, suspicion and intense rivalries are the order of the day. Read more:Putin says 'Ukraine is ours' and threatens nuclear strike After half a century of authoritarian theocratic rule there are no opposition groups ready to replace the ayatollahs. There may be a powerful sense of social cohesion and a patriotic resentment of outside interference, for plenty of good historic reasons. But if that is not enough to keep the country together then chaos could ensue. One of the biggest and most consequential nations in the region could descend into violent instability. That will have been on Israel's watch. If it breaks Iran it will own it even more than America owned the disaster in Iraq. Iran and Israel are, after all, in the same neighbourhood. Has Israel thought through the consequences? What is the strategic vision beyond victory? And if America joins in, as Donald Trump is threatening, is it prepared to share that legacy? At the very least, is his administration asking its allies whether they have a plan for what could come next?
Fox News
39 minutes ago
- Fox News
Israeli hostage families make desperate plea to Trump as 'time is running out'
JERUSALEM—The family members of Israeli hostages held in captivity by the U.S.-designated terrorist movement Hamas published an open letter on Thursday to President Trump, urging him to intervene to help free the 53 remaining people held in Gaza. "As Iranian missiles streak across the sky above us, our hearts remain consumed by thoughts of our beloved family members enduring brutal Hamas captivity. 53 precious souls—our children, parents, siblings, and spouses—remain trapped in hell. "For over 620 endless days, they have had no shelter, no family's embrace, no whispered words of comfort. Their time is running out. We write to you united in this unique anguish, yet bound by unshakable faith in your leadership and commitment to bringing our loved ones home," wrote the Israeli group Hostages and Missing Families Forum on the social media platform Truth Social -Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) is the parent company of Truth Social. The family members urged the President to "seize the opportunity while Iran and Hamas are at their weakest point." President Trump secured the freedom of the 21-year-old American-Israeli Edan Alexander from Hamas captivity on May 12. Eden returned to his hometown in New Jersey on Thursday after nearly 600 days in captivity. Fox News Digital sent press queries to the White House and the U.S. State Department, seeking comment about the open letter published on Truth Social to President Trump. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters at Soroka Hospital in Be'er Sheva—the site of an Iranian missile strike—that "The real barrier of Hamas is Iran. It will bring down Iran . . . Hamas is dying, and it will undoubtedly help to return the hostages." Netanyahu said Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran is aiding the Jewish state's efforts to secure the release of hostages held by the Iran-backed Hamas terrorist organization in Gaza. He added, "I do not close my eyes for a moment" about the hostages. Netanyahu told Isarel's Kan public broadcaster that "Hamas relies on Iran." Hamas' recalcitrance about agreeing to a ceasefire that would enable the hostages to be released has been the major obstacle for America's efforts to secure their freedom after 623 days of war. Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023, and massacred over 1,200 people, including Americans. and kidnapped more than 250 people. Netanyahu stressed, with respect to the hostages and the war against Iran, that "I am determined to bring all of them home . . . I will not give up on this, and there are also steps that we will take in these moments for this goal. . . . The destruction of the nuclear weapons, the destruction of missiles, the elimination of our targets." The Hostages and Missing Families Forum Headquarters released a statement from family members about the burial of murdered hostage Yair Yaakov on Friday, who was laid to rest at Kibbutz Nir Oz after 623 days in captivity. Or Yaakov, Yair's son, who was released from Hamas captivity as part of a deal, said, "Dad, you were such a special person. An exemplary father, a true friend. You left behind an enormous void that nothing will ever be able to fill. But I promise you, I will keep your memories alive within me. I will tell your stories, I will laugh at and with your jokes, and most importantly, I will live the way you would want me to live - with flow, simplicity, and contentment. Rest in peace, my dear father. You will always be in my heart, with every breath I take. I love you forever." The Times of Israel reported that the operation to recover Yair Yaakov was carried out by the army's 36th Division following precise intelligence from military and security intelligence. Reuters named Aviv Atzili as the second person recovered during the operation. Atzili, a warrant officer in the reserves and a member of Kibbutz Nir Oz's civil defense squad, was killed battling Hamas-led terrorists in the Gaza border community on October 7, 2023.
Bloomberg
41 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Iranian Missiles Intercepted Over Tel Aviv
Iranian missiles intercepted over Tel Aviv in the early hours of Saturday, June 21, 2025. (Source: Bloomberg)
