Iran vows to attack any ship trying to pass through Strait of Hormuz

Cairo: An ​Iranian Revolutionary Guards senior official said on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz is closed and Iran will fire on any ship trying to pass, Iranian media reported.

This ⁠is Iran's most explicit warning since telling ships it was closing the ⁠export route on Saturday, a move that threatens to ‌choke a fifth of global ​oil flows and send crude prices sharply higher.

"The strait (of Hormuz) is closed. If anyone tries to pass, the heroes of the Revolutionary Guards and the regular navy will set those ships ablaze," Ebrahim Jabari, a senior ​adviser to the Guards commander-in-chief, ⁠said in remarks carried by state media.

The strait is the world's most vital oil export route, which connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab ⁠Emirates, with ‌the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

The closure was triggered by US and Israeli strikes on Iran on ‌February 28 seeking to topple its leaders, with US President Donald Trump offering Iranians ⁠help in ousting the ruling clerics.

In response, Iran fired several barrages of missiles at its Gulf neighbours hosting ‌US military bases such as Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain. Tehran ‌also fired missiles at the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia ‌and Oman.

With this closure, Tehran made good on years ‌of threats to block the narrow waterway in retaliation for any attack on the Islamic Republic.

About 20 per cent of the world's daily oil consumption passes through the Strait of ⁠Hormuz, which is ⁠about 33 kilometers (21 miles) wide at its narrowest point.

Oil markets have focused on tensions between Tehran and its old foes, the US and Israel, fearing that a full-blown conflict would disrupt supplies and destabilise the region.