NEW YORK, March 5. /TASS/. The international ratings agency Fitch expects that the Strait of Hormuz will be effectively closed to shipping for less than a month due to the conflict in the Middle East.

"Our baseline is that the Strait will remain effectively closed for less than a month and that there will be no major damage to energy production and transport infrastructure. However, there are significant risks to these assumptions," the agency said in a statement.

The agency’s analysts assume that all countries in the Middle East will be able to cope with the consequences of the closure of the Strait of Hormuz within their current rating levels. Fitch estimates that each week the Strait of Hormuz remains closed will reduce hydrocarbon export revenues for Bahrain, Iraq, Qatar, and Kuwait by approximately 0.4% of their GDP.

Earlier, Iran's Permanent Mission to the UN called claims that Iran had closed the Strait of Hormuz absurd and baseless. In reality the United States poses a threat to maritime security, the Iranian mission noted.