Iran: expel the US and Israeli ambassadors and get free passage in Hormuz

Iran’s blackmail attempt

The statement, which was widely quoted in Iranian news agencies, is a blatant attempt to blackmail the international community and drive a wedge between the allies in the West and the Middle East, using one of the world’s most important trade routes as a strategic bargaining chip.

A senior Iranian military official told the Lebanese news channel Almiadin: “We will not allow the export of even one liter of oil from the region to the side of the enemy and its partners until further notice. The equation will change as long as the American-Zionist attack on our people and infrastructure continues. Trade in wartime is subject to security considerations and the management of the Strait of Hormuz in wartime will be subject to its laws.”

Now, according to the Revolutionary Guards’ announcement, Tehran is offering a “barter deal” to countries that will submit to its diplomatic dictates, in exchange for the exclusion of their citizens and commercial ships from the maritime blockade.

Dramatic economic significance on the price of oil

The economic significance of the Iranian move is dramatic. About a fifth of the world’s crude oil consumption, as well as huge amounts of liquefied natural gas, pass through the Straits of Hormuz every day. The growing instability and threats have already given their immediate signals in the markets, when global oil prices jumped over the $100 per barrel mark in the last day, out of fear of a continuing energy crisis.

While the military campaign continues in full force, it is clear that the renewed threat to global freedom of navigation now requires a firm and swift international response from the Western coalition.