Iranian parliament debates closing Strait of Hormuz and War escalates in Syria

Iranian parliament debates closing oil route
20 July, 2012 – Al Akhbar

A lawmaker said on Friday that about half of the 290 members of Iran’s parliament were backing a bill favoring the closing of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, passageway for a fifth of the world’s oil.

MP Javad Karimi Qodoosi proposed the legislation, saying the strait is the world’s lock, and the key is in Iran’s hands, according to the semi-official ISNA news agency.

Iranian officials said the final decision was in the hands of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Tehran has repeatedly threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz shipping channel, through which 40 percent of the world’s sea-borne oil exports passes, in retaliation for sanctions placed on its crude exports by Western powers.

The sanctions were imposed over Iran’s nuclear program, which the West suspects is aimed at creating an atomic weapon but Iran says is for peaceful energy purposes.

Israel has warned it may carry out unilateral strikes against the Islamic republic if sanctions fail to curb Iran’s program.

Iran has criticized Western hypocrisy over Israel’s own nuclear arsenal, which has avoided international scrutiny due to its privileged status as a US ally. …more