US Warns Iran Over Threat to Close Vital Oil Route

December 28, 2011 from Euronews

The US Navy has said it will not allow one of the world's most important oil trade routes to be disrupted, following a threat by Iran to stop ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. A spokesperson for the Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, said the free flow of goods and services through the channel was vital to regional and global prosperity. About 40 percent of the world's oil-tanker trade goes through the Strait of Hormuz, which links the numerous oil producing countries of the Gulf to the outside world.

(more) (less)

In This Video

Strait of Hormuz

The Strait of Hormuz Persian: تَنگِه هُرمُز‎ Tangeh-ye Hormoz, Arabic: مَضيق هُرمُز‎ Maḍīq Hurmuz is a strait between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. It is the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most strategically importan... Explore this topic

Iran

Irano Islamo Respublika – valstybė Artimuosiuose Rytuose, Azijos pietvakarinėje dalyje. Ribojasi su Armėnija, Azerbaidžanu, Turkmėnija bei Kaspijos jūra šiaurėje, Afganistanu ir Pakistanu rytuose, Iraku ir Turkija vakaruose, Persijos įlanka bei Omano įlanka pietuose. Explore this topic

United States Fifth Fleet

La Cinquième flotte des États-Unis est une flotte de l'US Navy. Elle a été créée le 26 avril 1944 ; elle est supprimée en janvier 1947. Dans les années 1990, suite à la guerre du Golfe, on a décidé de créer une flotte chargée des forces navales au Moyen-Orient, charge qui inco... Explore this topic

US Navy

The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. It is larger than the next 13 largest navies combined in terms of battle fleet tonnage. The U.S. Navy also has the world's... Explore this topic

Bahrain

Bahrain, officially the Kingdom of Bahrain is a small island country situated near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is an archipelago of 33 islands, the largest being Bahrain Island, at 55 km long by 18 km wide. Saudi Arabia lies to the west and is connected to Bahra... Explore this topic

Goods and services

Generally, goods and services are the outcome of human or nature efforts. In economics, economic output is divided into physical goods and intangible services. Consumption of goods and services is assumed to produce utility. It is often used when referring to a Goods and Servi... Explore this topic

Trade route

A trade route is a logistical network identified as a series of pathways and stoppages used for the commercial transport of cargo. Allowing goods to reach distant markets, a single trade route contains long distance arteries, which may further be connected to smaller networks ... Explore this topic

Oil tanker

An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a merchant ship designed for the bulk transport of oil. There are two basic types of oil tankers: the crude tanker and the product tanker. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crude oil from its point of extractio... Explore this topic

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf is located in Western Asia between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula. It is an extension of the Indian Ocean. The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers. In 1991, the Persian Gulf again was t... Explore this topic

Oil

Petroleum is a naturally occurring flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. The name Petroleum covers both naturally occu... Explore this topic

Also See

Strait of Hormuz

Iran

United States Fifth Fleet

Watch Next

3:10

Iran tests long-range ballistic missiles in response to growing Western threats [Al Jazeera, Qatar]

Mosaic | Jul 3

Iran tests long-range ballistic missiles in response to growing Western threats, Palestinian Authority faces risk of collapse due to financial cris...