Iran Threatens To Block Hormuz, Warns Oil Could Hit $200 Per Barrel

Iran has declared that it will not allow “a single litre of oil” to pass through the Strait of Hormuz for the benefit of the United States, Israel, and their allies, amid escalating tensions in the Middle East conflict.

Speaking on Wednesday, ⁠Ebrahim Zolfaqari, spokesperson
for Tehran’s ​Khatam
al-Anbiya military command headquarters,
said oil price will reach $200 a barrel.

The statement comes a day after the US threatened “fire and
fury” on Iran if it disrupted the flow of oil.

“And let us firmly reiterate that we will never allow even a
single litre of oil to pass through the Strait of Hormuz for the benefit of the
US, the Zionists, and their partners,” he said.

“Any vessel or oil shipment intended for America, the
Zionist regime, or their hostile allies, will be a legitimate target for us.

“Your strategy of hiding behind Iran’s neighbouring
countries and the Muslims of the West Asia region, and even the world has
expired.”

Zolfaqari warned the countries (Israel and the US) that they will be unable to artificially
lower oil and energy prices.

“With the expansion of war in the region, we have announced
that you should prepare for $200 per barrel because the price of oil depends on
security in the region, and you are the source of insecurity,” he said.

For more than a week, the international crude oil market has
been dealing with what some traders have described as a “brutal wave of
volatility” caused by the conflict in the Middle East.

Crude oil prices crossed $100 per barrel on Monday — the
highest level since July 2022 — before easing to $87 on Tuesday.

Donald Trump, the US president, had warned that “death,
fire, and fury will reign upon them (Iran)” if they stopped the flow of oil
within the Strait of Hormuz.

On March 2, major container shipping lines suspended
sailings through the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal over the escalating
security risks.

Hormuz is a narrow maritime passage connecting the Persian
Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The waterway is said to be the
only sea route linking the Gulf’s oil and gas producers to global markets,
making it one of the most strategically important waterways in the world.

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