Adviser to Iran supreme leader compares control of Hormuz to ‘atomic bomb’

An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader compares control over the Strait of Hormuz to having an “atomic bomb” and vows not to relinquish it.

Adviser Mohammad Mokhber says Iran had long “neglected” its privileged position along the strait, a vital conduit for oil and gas shipments that Tehran shut early in the Middle East war, throwing markets into turmoil and stranding hundreds of vessels.

“The Strait of Hormuz represents an opportunity as precious as an atomic bomb,” he says in a video published by the Mehr news agency.

“Indeed, having in one’s hands a position that allows you to influence the global economy with a single decision is a major opportunity.”

Pledging not to “forfeit the gains of this war,” he goes on to say Iran will “change the (legal) regime of this strait,” through international law if possible, and unilaterally if not.

Mokhber does not specifically mention charging vessels to use the waterway, but the shipping journal Lloyd’s List reported on Friday that Iran had created an authority to approve transit through the strait and to collect tolls.