UNITED NATIONS, March 13. /TASS/. The current maritime traffic situation in the Strait of Hormuz is a direct result of the US aggression against Iran, Iranian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Amir-Saeid Iravani said.

"Iran fully respects and remains committed to the principle of freedom of navigation under the law of the sea," he said. "However, the current situation in the region, including in the Strait of Hormuz, is not the result of Iran’s lawful exercise of its right of self-defense. Rather, it is the direct consequence of the destabilizing actions of the United States in launching aggression against Iran and undermining regional security."

Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei said on March 12 that Iran must maintain its ability to block the Strait of Hormuz to put pressure on the enemy.

On March 2, Major General of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC, elite army units) Ebrahim Jabari warned that the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world's oil exports pass, will be closed to ships due to the military operation of Israel and the United States against the Islamic republic. On March 5, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the strait was not closed, but ships and tankers were not crossing it for fear of attacks from both sides.