Iranian Revolutionary Guards Navy threatens to close Strait of Hormuz amid crisis between Tehran and Washington over nuclear issue
The commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Ali Tangsiri, threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz to ships, amid the crises between Tehran and the United States. The Strait of Hormuz is a very important route, and without it the West will suffer severely from crippling trade. Iran has previously threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz from maritime traffic if economic sanctions are imposed on it, including a ban on buying oil from Iran, but has not done so.
The strait is a narrow strip of water that separates Iran from Oman, and connects the major oil producers like Saudi Arabia, at its narrowest point its width reaches only about 33 kilometers, and most of the oil exported through the strait.
Al-Arabiya reported that the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Ali Tangsiri, had admitted responsibility for the shooting at the Ein al-Assad base in the Iraqi Anbar province, which includes American advisers. The French news agency AFP reported that five missiles landed near the base, without causing any casualties.
Since the summer of 2020, some 2,500 U.S. troops and 1,000 other coalition forces are still on Iraqi soil to provide advice and training to Iraqi forces, while most of the U.S. forces sent in 2014 as part of the coalition under Donald Trump have left the country.