Strait of Hormuz

Iranian authorities reiterated threats to close Strait of Hormuz if Western countries impose sanctions on Iran's oil exports.

A commander of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said that high-ranking officials of the country have decided to close the Strait of Hormuz if sanctions are imposed on Iran's crude oil exports, local Khorasan daily reported on Jan. 8.

Khorasan quoted Ali-Ashraf Nouri as saying that "The supreme authorities of the (Islamic) establishment have emphasized that if the enemies impose sanctions on the export of our oil, we won't allow a drop of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. This is the strategy of the Islamic republic in face of such threats."

Aso, a senior Iranian lawmaker said the aim of the upcoming naval drills by the IRGC is to prepare for the potential closure of the strategic Hormuz Strait, the local satellite Press TV reported.

IRGC Navy plans to hold a large-scale military maneuver in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz in February.

The upcoming maneuver, titled Great Prophet-7, is one of a series of drills dubbed Great Prophet, and will be different compared to previous exercises held by the IRGC, Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi said.

The Strait of Hormuz, connecting the Persian Gulf with the Sea of Oman, is one of the world's most critical oil routes. Any incidents here may cause global oil market to fluctuate.

U.S. red lines

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta outlined red lines for Iran in a TV interview on Jan. 8, 2012, vowing that the United States would not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon or to block the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran began uranium enrichment at a new underground site well protected from possible airstrikes.

"Are they trying to develop a nuclear weapon? No. But we know that they're trying to develop a nuclear capability. And that's what concerns us," Panetta said in the interview on the "Face the Nation" program of CBS. "And our red line to Iran is to not develop a nuclear weapon. That's a red line for us."

Panetta also said that Washington would "not tolerate" the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz, saying "that's another red line for us and that we will respond to them."

Contact between U.S. and Iran

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast confirmed on Jan. 15 that Iran has received a letter from the United States over Strait of Hormuz.

On Jan. 16, Ali-Abar Velayati, the top advisor to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that the recent letter of the United States to the Islamic republic's supreme leader has nothing new.

The New York Times reported on Jan. 13 that the U.S. had used a secret channel to send a letter to Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over the country's threats of closing the strategic passage of Strait of Hormuz. The report said that in the letter U.S. warned that closing the Strait would be crossing a "red line" and it would provoke a response.