Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made a threat earlier this week, to disrupt other countries’ oil shipments through the Gulf, in case the US proceeds with efforts to stop Iranian oil exports.
As Reuters reports, the US has imposed sanctions on Iran with the aim to decrease Iran’s oil exports to zero. The ultimate goal is to limit the Islamic Republic’s missile programme and regional influence.
Mr. Rouhani specifically said if the US decides to eventually prevent the export of Iran’s oil, ‘then no oil will be exported from the Persian Gulf’.
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Earlier this year, an Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander, Ismail Kowsari, noted that Tehran would prevent oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz if the US ban Iranian oil sales.
It is evident that tensions between Iran and the United States have increased, after President Donald Trump withdrew from a multilateral nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The announcement triggered global discussions about implications on international trade, especially in shipping. Following this decision, in August, President Trump issued an Executive Order which essentially re-imposed the secondary sanctions against Iran.
Nonetheless, on the opposite direction of these decisions the U.S. granted exemptions to countries, including China and Greece, that have already demonstrated significant reductions to the purchase of Iranian crude oil over the past year.
