Iran does not want to close the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, even though it can, according to its foreign minister.
Mohammad Javad Zarif told Bloomberg Television: “We certainly have the ability to do it, but we certainly don’t want to do it because the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf are our lifeline.
“It has to be secured. We play a big role in securing it, but it has to be secure for everybody.”
Tensions have been high in the region after attacks against tankers and the seizing of a VLCC by the UK in Gibraltar after it was suspected of carrying Iranian fuel to Syria.
Iran has been blamed for the tanker attacks, but has denied involvement.
“It’s dangerous because it is very crowded,” Zarif said.
“We feel the danger and that is why we want to avoid a dangerous escalation, but we cannot give up defending our country.”
The British navy intervened to prevent Iranian boats intercepting a BP tanker in the Strait last week, in apparent retaliation for the UK's seizing of the 301,000-dwt Grace 1 (built 1997).
Zarif denied the VLCC was heading to Syria and appeared to confirm it is carrying Iranian crude: “There are no EU sanctions that are applicable to non-EU member states; the EU, unlike the US, doesn’t impose its sanctions on third parties.
"We were selling our oil. There were no UN sanctions on Iranian oil. Nobody has the right to confiscate that ship. So it’s piracy, pure and simple.”
