Reuters: Iran to Practice Closing Strait of Hormuz, Crippling Gulf Oil Exports

A member of Iran's parliament made a shocking claim on Monday. According to him, Iran is set to practice shutting down the Strait of Hormuz, which would cut off oil transport in the Gulf region. But while the threat is disconcerting, there has been no confirmation that the strait is currently closed or that the statement is more than just an empty threat.

Reuters reports:

The legislator, Parviz Sarvari, told the student news agency ISNA: "Soon we will hold a military maneuver on how to close the Strait of Hormuz. If the world wants to make the region insecure, we will make the world insecure."

Contacted by Reuters, a spokesman for the Iranian military declined to comment.

Iran's energy minister told Al Jazeera television last month that Tehran could use oil as a political tool in the event of any future conflict over its nuclear program.

"If the world wants to make the region insecure, we will make the world insecure," he reportedly said. The move would apparently be to scare detractors who oppose Iran's nuclear program.

"About a third of all sea-borne shipped oil passed through the Strait in 2009, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)," says Reuters, "and U.S. warships patrol the area to ensure safe passage."

According to Bloomberg news, oil prices shot up as a result of the speculation:

Crude advanced as much as 3.6 percent after the state-run Fars news agency reported the military maneuvers will be “soon,” citing Parvis Sorouri, a member of the parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee. The Strait of Hormuz is a bottleneck for oil exports from the Persian Gulf. The Fed is scheduled to release a statement on monitory policy later today.

However, as Zero Hedge points out, the shipping channel is still open. For now.