Oil Wars: Iran Says 'Ready' to Block of Hormuz Strait in Retaliation to U.S.

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday their forces were ready to implement Iran's threat to block the Strait of Hormuz and that if Iran cannot sell its oil under the U.S. pressure, no other regional country will be allowed to.

"We are hopeful that this plan expressed by our president will be implemented if needed ... We will make the enemy understand that either all can use the Strait of Hormuz or no one," Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp, was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency.

On Wednesday, a Revolutionary Guards commander said Iran would block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz was U.S. President Donald Trump to stop Iranian oil sales.

With a third of the world's sea-borne oil passing through it every day, the Strait of Hormuz is a strategic artery linking Middle East crude producers to key markets in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America and beyond.

This week, an Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander threatened that Tehran will block oil shipments through the waterway in response to U.S. calls to ban all Iranian oil exports.

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The Strait has been at the heart of regional tensions for decades and this is not first time that Tehran has made such threats.