By William Tucker
The media has been buzzing today over comments made by Parviz Sarvari in which the Iranian politician claimed that Iran would soon war game the closing of the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has been threatening to do so should the U.S. or Israel ever attack over the Iran’s nuclear program, but this may be bluster. Although Sarvari is on the Parliament’s National Security Committee, he does not have a say in military matters. The Strait of Hormuz is of such strategic significance that any maneuver, games or not, would be seen as excessively provocative and may result in military action taken by the U.S. Furthermore, fourteen percent of the world’s daily crude oil consumption flows through the Strait each day. This would work to Iran’s detriment and galvanize global opinion against the country in the midst of tough economic times. All this being said, Iran does have the military means to disrupt shipping in the Strait, but because of the negative ramifications Tehran would only do so in the event of war.
Map: CIA, 2004
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