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International News Desk The Iranian Government has threatened to block the "oil artery of the world" in an escalation of tensions in an already tense Persian Gulf; in response the US military have declared such a move would be tantamount to a Casus beli.
In a report in The Times the US Fifth Fleet which is responsible for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open said:
"The free flow of goods and services through the start of Hormuz is vital to regional and global prosperity. Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations, and disruption will not be tolerated".
The move by the Iranian authorities is a response to the United States efforts to limit Iran's nuclear ambitions by limiting its oil exports.
The Iranian vice-president Mohammed Reza Rahimi said:
"If sanctions are adopted against Iranian oil, not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz".
War games are currently taking place in the Persian Gulf by the Iranian navy sending tensions to new levels, spooking markets around the world with crude now at $99 a barrel.
The Strait of Hormuz sees a sixth of the world's oil production which is bordered to Iran, the Hormuz is vitally important as it links oil and has production from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the Gulf states.
Sanctions against Iran are now being looked at by the US, EU governments with half of the country's income coming from revenues earned from oil. Iran is OPEC's second largest exporter of oil after Saudi Arabia.
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