Iran is reportedly saying it will block the Strait of Hormuz and stop oil shipments for what amounts to around 20% of the world's daily oil flow and up to $1 billion, which will send oil prices soaring globally.
Iran has no legal authority to block traffic through Hormuz, and blockage would mean direct combat with U.S. naval assets, including the U.S. Fifth Fleet warships patrolling the region.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council must make the final decision on whether to close the Strait of Hormuz following U.S. bombing raids, Iran's Press TV said Sunday, after parliament was reported to have backed the measure
The multinational, U.S.-led combined maritime force's JMIC information center said it has categorized the threat to U.S. associated commercial shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as "high" after U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called on China to encourage Iran to not shut down the Strait of Hormuz.
"I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil," said Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser.
"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."
Rubio said a move to close the strait would be a massive escalation that would merit a response from the U.S. and others.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately provide comment.
U.S. officials said it "obliterated" Iran's main nuclear sites using 14 bunker-buster bombs, more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles and over 125 military aircraft. The strikes mark an escalation in the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict.
Tehran has vowed to defend itself. Rubio on Sunday warned against retaliation, saying such an action would be "the worst mistake they've ever made."
He added that the U.S. is prepared to talk with Iran.
Iran has long used the threat of closing the Strait, through which around 20% of global oil and gas demand flows, as a way to ward off Western pressure which is now at its peak after the overnight U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities.
The decision to close the strait is not yet final and it was not officially reported that parliament had in fact adopted a bill to that effect.
Instead, a member of parliament's national security commission Esmail Kosari was quoted on other Iranian media as saying: "For now, [parliament has] come to the conclusion we should close the Strait of Hormuz, but the final decision in this regard is the responsibility of the Supreme National Security Council."
Kosari, who is also a Revolutionary Guards Commander, had earlier on Sunday told the Young Journalist Club that closing the strait was on the agenda and "will be done whenever necessary."
Asked about whether Tehran would close the waterway, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi dodged the question on Sunday and replied: "A variety of options are available to Iran."
The strait lies between Oman and Iran and links the Mideast Gulf north of it with the Gulf of Oman to the south and the Arabian Sea beyond.
It is 21 miles (33 km) wide at its narrowest point, with the shipping lane just 2 miles (3 km) wide in either direction.
Information from Reuters was used to compile this report.
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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