Iran to turn Strait of Hormuz into leverage against rivals, lawmaker says

A new Iranian bill on regulating the Strait of Hormuz will clearly distinguish between friendly and hostile countries and give Tehran leverage over states it considers unfriendly, Iranian lawmaker Abolfazl Zohrevand, a member of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, has said.

Speaking to TASS, he made clear that there is no doubt this law will clearly distinguish between friendly states and those countries that show hostility toward the region and, in particular, toward Iran.

“In any case, if they intend to impose unilateral and unjust sanctions against us, we will also be able to use this potential and this leverage against them,” the Iranian lawmaker noted.

In his view, the bill will greatly help the Islamic Republic regulate bilateral relations.

On August 7, Alireza Salimi, a member of the Iranian parliament’s presiding board, said lawmakers were considering a bill that would ban vessels linked to the United States and Israel from passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov