Iran Says It Had Been Preparing to Close the Strait of Hormuz Since 1987
Iranian lawmaker and senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Esmail Kowsari has claimed that Tehran had maintained plans to close the Strait of Hormuz dating back to the Iran-Iraq War.
According to Kowsari, Iran had considered such a move for decades but had deliberately refrained from taking the final step in order to avoid being held responsible for the potentially devastating consequences that a closure of the strategic waterway could have on the global economy and energy markets.
He said that what he described as an “error” by the United States and Israel ultimately forced Tehran to take action and cross a threshold it had avoided for nearly four decades.
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most critical maritime chokepoints, with a significant share of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments passing through the narrow waterway.