by AK Group
January 2, 2012 at 3:00 am
January 2, 2012 at 3:00 am
A showdown between Iran and the United States over Tehran's threats to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers worsened Wednesday as warships from each side backed up an increasingly hostile exchange of words.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards rejected a warning from the U.S. military, which has vowed not to "tolerate" such a closure, saying they would act decisively "to protect [their] vital interests."
The tough language came as Iran's Navy said a U.S. aircraft carrier entered a zone where Tehran's ships and aircraft were engaged in 10 days of war games that are designed to show the Islamic republic's military might.
The area was in waters to the east of the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point at the entrance to the Gulf through which more than a third of the world's tanker-borne oil passes.
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi warned Tuesday that "not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz" if the West followed through with planned additional sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.
A U.S. Defense Department spokesman replied Wedesday with a declaration that "interference with the transit of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz will not be tolerated." But Brigadier General Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, told the Fars news agency Thursday that "our response to threats is threats." Read the rest on:
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