Iran threatens to blockade the strategic strait.

Iran has threatened retaliation for what it claims was an Israeli airstrike on Tehran's diplomatic facilities in Syria on April 1, which killed seven IRGC officers, including two senior commanders. This development has heightened tensions between Israel and Iran and risks plunging the Middle East into a new cycle of violence.

"We are not the kind of people who are attacked without retaliating, but we are also not in a hurry to retaliate," Iran's ISNA news agency quoted Alireza Tangsiri, commander of the IRGC navy, as saying.

"We could close the Strait of Hormuz, but we are not doing so at the moment. However, if the enemy comes to harass us, we will reconsider our policy," Tangsiri said.

The strategic location of the Strait of Hormuz

AL JAZEERA SCREENSHOT

According to Reuters, about one-fifth of the world 's total oil consumption passes through the Strait of Hormuz every day. Data from the analytics firm Vortexa shows that between January and September 2023, an average of 20.5 million barrels of crude oil, condensate, and petroleum products passed through the strait daily.

Since 2019, tensions between the US and Iran have escalated due to ship seizures in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow gateway connecting the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, located between Iran and Oman. It is also the only sea corridor from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean.

The UAE, situated across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, became the most prominent Arab nation to establish diplomatic relations with Israel in 30 years, following a US-brokered agreement in 2020. At the same time, Abu Dhabi maintains normal diplomatic and trade relations with Tehran.

"We know that the Zionists (Israelis) brought to the UAE are not for economic purposes but for security and military purposes. This is a threat to us and should not happen," Tangsiri declared.

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