Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday the Iranian military’s control over the Strait of Hormuz sets a “dangerous precedent” for the rest of the world.

“If we create a precedent in the Middle East where a nation-state can decide that they are going to control an international waterway, charge a toll, and if you don’t pay them, blow up your ships, we have created a very dangerous precedent which will repeat itself in other parts of the world, including in this region,” Rubio said during the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Manila, the Philippines.

The U.S. and Iran resumed tit-for-tat strikes roughly two weeks ago, laying waste to the short-lived memorandum of understanding the two sides signed in mid-June — which called for the Islamic Republic to lift its restrictions on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. to lift its blockade of Iranian ports.

Tehran’s effective halt on vessels passing through the waterway in the early months of the war rocked the global energy industry, as nearly 34 percent of the world’s crude oil went through the strait last year, according to the International Energy Agency.

Since July 6, Iranian forces have attacked at least a dozen ships in the strait, according to the International Maritime Organization. The Iranian government also created the Persian Gulf Strait Authority to oversee shipping in the strait, while forcing ships to travel along designated routes in the waterway.

More here

Tagged: Breaking News BACK TO HOMEPAGE