The possibility of blocking Iran's oil exports is being discussed in the United States and the Middle East against the background of the tense situation in the region, reports the Financial Times newspaper, citing a former defense official.
It is noted that earlier the US Navy had moved two destroyer squadrons near the Strait of Hormuz, a large part of the Persian Gulf that forms a third of the world's ports for oil trade.
"There are discussions in Washington and the Middle East that the United States may block Iran's oil exports, as happened in the case of Venezuela," the newspaper writes.
As a former defense official told the Financial Times, the US Navy is capable of disrupting commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf, and the threat of mediation by American ships "could have consequences." According to him, blocking is risky.
