Tehran (dpa) – Iran on Tuesday played down warnings on closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, a vital international oil shipping route. Vice-President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi had last month warned that Iran would close the strait if oil sanctions were imposed on Iran. During the recent 10-day naval exercise in the Persian Gulf, several Iranian commanders had reiterated the warning. “The maneuver was just aimed at strengthening the security in the Persian Gulf,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told reporters in Tehran. “The main message of the maneuver was that this security should be obtained by regional states without any foreign interference,” he added. Mehmanparast refrained from commenting on the warnings by the vice-president and the generals. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/0kp4q Tags: Diplomacy, Strait of Hormuz Section: Iran
