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EU passes Iran oil embargo
The European Union passed an embargo on Iranian oil Monday, prompting renewed threats from Tehran about shutting the Strait of Hormuz if the United States and European Union proceed with their sanctions.
The EU sanctions, passed Monday in Brussels, place an immediate ban on new oil contracts with Iran and says all current contracts must be ended by July 1. The European measures come after U.S. sanctions against Iran’s central bank were included in the 2012 Defense Authorization bill passed last month.
The EU currently purchases about 20 percent of Iran’s oil.
The sanctions from the United States and EU are designed to stop Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran says is for energy purposes but the United States and other allies say is for building a nuclear weapon.
Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, a member of Iran’s Majlis Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy, said Monday that Iran could shut the Strait of Hormuz if it is threatened, according to Iran’s PressTV.
Mohammad Ismail Kowsari, deputy head of Iran's committee on national security, said the strait "would definitely be closed if the sale of Iranian oil is violated in any way,” according to The Associated Press.
Iran had initially threatened last month to close the strait in response to the economic sanctions, and then warned U.S. carriers not to go through the strait into the Persian Gulf after the USS John Stennis left the strait last month.
But Iran backed down from those threats over the weekend, as the USS Abraham Lincoln, flanked by British and French ships, went through the strait and into the gulf without incident on Sunday.
Military analysts say that closing the strait would amount to economic suicide for Iran, as the country’s economy relies heavily on its oil exports.
