US Secretary of State: Iran targets navigation in the Strait of Hormuz after losing control

Washington, Sept 2 (KUNA) -- U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that Iran is targeting commercial navigation in the Strait of Hormuz after losing control of it, emphasizing that his country will not allow Tehran to impose its sovereignty over this international waterway.

In remarks to the U.S. Fox News channel, Rubio stated, “Iran continues to target navigation, including commercial vessels, in the Strait of Hormuz because it is losing control of the strait; in fact, it has already lost control.” He added that the United States had succeeded in destroying the mines Iran had planted in the strait, making the navigational channels wider now, “but they continue to fire at and target commercial ships.” He affirmed that his country reserves the right to defend its interests in the region and ensure the flow of global energy supplies.

Rubio stressed that the United States will continue to target “anything that poses an imminent threat to our forces and to global navigation in the strait,” reiterating that “the strait will remain open and will not come under Iranian control.” He clarified that “although our primary means of preventing them from acquiring a nuclear weapon and imposing a heavy cost on them is economic, we do not rule out a military response when necessary to any threats.”

The U.S. Secretary of State concluded, “Iran, which is suffering a catastrophic economic crisis, will remain under the pressure of those economic sanctions to prevent it from obtaining funds it uses to support terrorism and to pursue its attempt to acquire a nuclear weapon, which we cannot allow.” (End) A.M.M. / R.J.