Kuwait: Iran’s closure of Hormoz would punish neighbors
Published: Wednesday, August 06, 2008
12:45GMT—8:45AM/EST
KUWAIT – IRAN – OIL – HORMOZ
Washington, 6 August (IranVNC)—Kuwait’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammad al-Sabah, said today that Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormoz – a key shipping route in the Persian Gulf – would amount to “punishment” of neighboring Arab states.
“Through such statements, Iranian officials are hinting at punishing Gulf Cooperation Council [GCC] states,” the Kuwait Times quotes al-Sabah as saying.
Kuwait, along with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar, constitute the GCC – an economic and political alliance of six Persian Gulf states, who combined, possess almost half of the world’s oil reserves, according to the BBC.
The comments come one day after the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps [IRGC], Major-General Mohammad Ali Jafari, threatened to close the Hormoz if Iran was attacked, calling the move “easily possible” and with “no limitation in terms of time”, reports Fars News.
Al-Sabah described the Iranian threat as “very strange”, given the GCC’s support for Iran’s “right for a peaceful use of nuclear energy” and rejection of any military strike on Iran.
“What we need now is stability and wisdom,” he added.
Reuters reported on Monday that Kuwait is considering storing oil in East Asia as a long-term solution to any Hormoz closure.
The U.S. has never ruled out the military option in its approach towards Iran’s nuclear program, which it suspects Tehran is using to develop nuclear weapons.
The Pentagon said yesterday that Iran would only be hurting itself if it closed the Strait, as that country’s economy is highly dependent on oil revenues.
“Shutting down the Strait … would be sort of a self-defeating exercise,” Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said at a Pentagon news briefing. That is not to say the U.S. would allow it, he continued.
Sources: Kuwait Times, Fars News Agency, Department of Defense website, BBC, Reuters
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