President Hassan Rouhani’s apparent threat to block the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for looming US sanctions on Iranian oil exports has made headlines around the world. The strait is a vital route through which one-third of sea-borne oil flows to the Arabian Sea. In 2016, it amounted to 18.5 million barrels per day — the highest volume for any maritime chokepoint in the world. While Rouhani never explicitly referred to the waterway by name, his language seems to be an implicit warning to the West — and especially the United States. During his tour of Switzerland and Austria in early July, Rouhani said, “The Americans say they want to reduce Iranian oil exports to zero. … It shows they have not thought about its consequences.” He then added, “It would be meaningless that Iran cannot export its oil while others in the region can. Do this if you can and see the consequences.”
This is not the first time that Iran has made such a threat.