Azerbaijan, Baku, Jul.15/ Trend F.Milad/
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces has said that although a plan for closing the Hormuz Strait is pursued, but the final decision lies within authority of the Supreme Leader.
Major General Hassan Firouzabadi added, "Of course, we have not yet decided to block the Strait of Hormuz. This falls within authorities of the Supreme Leader. But, we have prepared a rational and reasonable plan in this regard," according to the Fars News Agency.
On July 7, Firouzabadi said that the country will make a wise decision as to whether to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
He made the remarks in reply to a question about the proposal that the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee put forward on July 1, which calls for the Strait of Hormuz to be blocked to prevent the passage of tankers that carry oil for the countries that have imposed sanctions on Iran.
The proposal, which has not yet been submitted to the Majlis Presiding Board, was prepared in response to the European Union's oil embargo on Iran that took effect on July 1 and a new U.S. law that penalizes countries that do business with the Central Bank of Iran by denying their banks access to the U.S. market. The law came into force on June 28.
The Mehr News Agency quoted Firouzabadi as saying, "I, as a senior military commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran, say that we have a (contingency) plan to block the Strait of Hormuz because military men should have plans in regard to all issues, and the Strait of Hormuz is the world's fourth or fifth (most) strategic strait, which affects everything in the world."