Tehran - Iran on Saturday once again threatened to block the oil export route in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz if attacked, Fars news agency reported. "We have a great deal of respect for keeping the Strait of Hormuz open but other countries should know that if Iran's interests in the (Gulf) region were ignored, then we would not allow others to use (the strait) either," Iranian army chief General Hassan Firouzabadi told Fars.
The general's remarks were made in reference to reports that the United States and Israel might attack the main Iranian nuclear sites after the Islamic state once again refused to suspend its uranium enrichment programme.
The commander of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, made a similar warning earlier.
A blockade of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz would trigger a worldwide energy crisis.
General Jafari said Saturday that enemy warships would have no chance against Iran's guards adding that "Iranian missiles would send the warships to the bottom of the Persian Gulf."
General Jafari had earlier also warned Israel that the Jewish state was within range of Iranian missiles and indicated that any Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear sites would be retaliated against by missile strikes.
Iran's medium-range Shahab-3 missile reportedly has a range of between 1,300 and 2,000 kilometres and is said to be able to reach any part of Israeli territory.
