Tehran threatens to close Hormuz

TEHRAN, Dec 04 (Agencies): Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has threatened again to close the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for nearly a third of all oil traded by sea.

The state TV quotes Rouhani as saying on Tuesday that "if someday, the United States decides to block Iran's oil (exports), no oil will be exported from the Persian Gulf."

The strait at the mouth of the Persian Gulf is crucial to global energy supplies.

Rouhani also pledged that the United States wouldn't be able to prevent Iran from exporting its crude.

Rouhani has made similar threats previously, especially after President Donald Trump threatened to decrease Iran's oil export to nil. His threat was welcomed by many Iranian officials, including hard-liners such as Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard's powerful Quds Force.

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council was set to meet behind closed doors on Tuesday at the request of France and Britain after they accused Iran of test-firing a medium-range missile at the weekend, diplomats said.

The United States said the missile launch on Saturday was a violation of a UN resolution that endorsed the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, from which Washington has withdrawn.

That resolution calls on Iran to refrain from testing missiles capable of carrying a nuclear weapon.

France said it was concerned by the test-firing with the foreign ministry describing it as "provocative and destabilising" and "does not conform" with UN resolution 2231 on the Iran deal.

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called the missile test "provocative, threatening and inconsistent" with the resolution and said Britain was determined "that it should cease."

Iran has long maintained that its missile program is defensive in nature and not aimed at ensuring the delivery of a nuclear weapon, a stance supported by Russia at the Security Council.

Washington's Iran envoy Brian Hook urged the European Union to slap sanctions that target Tehran's missile program as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Brussels for talks with European partners.