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Iran’s armed forces vow to protect oil tankers against US threat Iran says navy prepared to protect oil tankers from ‘any threats’ as US sanctions kick in
(35 minutes later)
The Iranian Army has vowed to defend the country’s commercial shipping vessels from any potential threats after the US warned countries against allowing Iranian tankers into their territorial waters and ports. Following US warnings dissuading port operators from allowing Iranian tankers to dock, Iran’s top brass pushed back by reiterating that its navy is ready to protect ships against any threats.
Last week, Washington imposed a unilateral ban on the Iranian crude, shipping and banking industries after withdrawing from the 2015 international pact that aimed to curb Iran’s nuclear program. Earlier, the White House sanctioned Iran’s auto industry, carpets, metals trading and the country’s access to US dollars. Iran’s military is “prepared today as in the past” to protect against “any threats,” and to ensure the safe passage of Iranian oil tankers, Rear-Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, a deputy commander of the regular armed forces, said on Monday, Iranian news agency ISNA reports.
“Iran’s armed forces... are prepared today as in the past to protect our fleet of oil tankers against any threats so that it can continue to use marine waterways,” Rear-Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, deputy commander of armed forces, told Iranian news agency ISNA, according to Reuters. He stressed that any “hindrances” to Iran’s right to use international waterways “would be clearly unacceptable.”
The Iranian response came days after the State Department’s special representative on Iran policy, Brian Hook, issued a warning over potential risks allegedly connected to dealing with Iranian shipping vessels. According to the official, Iran’s tankers will lose access to international insurers under the US restrictions, and thus will be a risk to ports and waterways. The comments come a week after the United States unilaterally re-imposed sanctions on Tehran’s oil, shipping and banking industries. Although it’s unclear whether other nations will abide by Washington’s diktats, US officials have hinted that Iranian ships will no longer be welcome in international waters.
Mousavi said that creating obstacles to transportation through international waterways would be unacceptable. “Iran’s armed forces have the preparedness to protect our commercial fleet... as they have in the past 40 years,” he said. “From the Suez Canal to the Strait of Malacca and all choke-points in between, Iranian tankers are a floating liability,” Brian Hook, US special representative for Iran and senior policy adviser to the secretary of state, said on Wednesday. “Self-insured Iranian tankers are a risk to the ports that permit them to dock [and] the canals that allow them to transit.”
Washington also warned countries and port operators about potential sanctions in the event that they keep allowing Iranian ships access to international waterways and port facilities. Hook went on to warn that nations that ignore the US-imposed restrictions on Iran’s commercial fleet could face sanctions of their own.
The head of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization Mohammad Rastad said the Islamic Republic is planning file a complaint to the International Maritime Organization over “cruel US sanctions and restrictions on maritime transport.” Tehran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz and halt Persian Gulf oil exports if its own oil exports are blocked. In recent months, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has held naval exercises in the Persian Gulf designed to increase preparedness for “confronting possible threats.”
Tehran has also threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil shipping route, if Washington attempts to stop the Iranian oil exports. A third of the world’s sea-borne oil passes through the strategic artery. If the waterway were blocked, oil prices would rise dramatically. National Security Advisor John Bolton said in August that shutting down the Strait of Hormuz would be a serious “mistake,” suggesting that Tehran was merely “bluffing.”
For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section On November 5, the US put back in force all sanctions previously lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, which Washington unilaterally withdrew from in May. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the sanctions will remain until Tehran complies with a list of 12 demands. The ultimatum calls on Tehran to halt all nuclear and ballistic missile development, as well as ending the country’s alleged “support for terrorism.” Washington also says that Iran must completely withdraw from Syria before sanctions can be lifted.
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