Azerbaijan, Baku, Dec. 16 / Trend S.Isayev, D. Khatinoglu/
Iran will never close down the Strait of Hormuz, country's Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said, Mehr News Agency reported.
Other Iranian officials have also made statements regarding the Strait of Hormuz earlier.
Member of Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Parviz Sururi said that Iran plans to launch a maneuver that will close down the Strait of Hormuz.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ramin Mehmanparast stated that Iran's threat of closing the Strait of Hormuz is a response to the United States' threats against the Islamic Republic.
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow, strategically important waterway between the Gulf of Oman in the southeast and the Persian Gulf. On the north coast is Iran and on the south coast is the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman. Over 70% of world's energy transits go through Middle East and the Strait of Hormuz.
The strait at its narrowest is 54 kilometers wide. It is the only sea passage to the open ocean for large areas of the petroleum-exporting Persian Gulf. Over 10 tankers carrying 15.5 million barrels (2,460,000 m3) of crude oil pass through the strait on an average day, making it one of the world's most strategically important choke points.