The Strait of Hormuz. The arrows mark the international shipping lines.

Iranian Member of Parliament Ibrahim Agha-Mohammadi told the Iranian state media that “There is a bill prepared in the National Security and Foreign Policy committee of Parliament that stresses the blocking of oil tanker traffic carrying oil to countries that have sanctioned Iran. This bill has been developed as an answer to the European Union’s oil sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran.” He also said that 100 of the 290 members of parliament have signed the bill. The bill authorizes an attempt to block the two international shipping channels in the narrow Strait of Hormuz that lies between Iran and Oman, the natural bottleneck between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Around 17 million barrels of oil were shipped through the Strait by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and natural gas from Qatar. Agha-Mohammadi did not say if the bill addresses how a Iranian naval vessel would determine if the ships they are stopping were headed to Europe or the China.

Iran threatens this periodically. The United States has a large naval presence in the Persian Gulf to assist in protecting the oil shipments.

Iran is really ticked off over the sanctions because they are really impacting the Iranian economy, and that means they are threatening the economic stability of the country.

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• Iran lawmakers prepare to close Hormuz Strait – RT(rt.com)

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• The US and EU oil sanctions against Iran to cripple Iranian economy(ireport.cnn.com)

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