Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said Saturday they were waiting for US forces to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway where traffic remains strangled as the regional war rages.
“We are waiting for their presence,” said IRGC spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini, after the US energy secretary announced the Navy was preparing to escort ships through the strait “as soon as it’s reasonable to do it.”
“We recommend that before making any decision, the Americans remember the fire of the American supertanker Bridgeton in 1987 and the oil tankers that were recently targeted,” Naini said, according to Fars news agency.
This comes as the price of oil surged higher and showed no signs of halting its rapid climb a week after the U.S. and “Israel” launched major attacks on Iran that escalated into a war in the Middle East.
The escalation has left ships that carry roughly 20 million barrels of oil a day stranded in the Gulf, unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices surpassed $90 a barrel Friday, with American crude settling at $90.90, up 36% from a week ago, and Brent, the international standard, climbing 27% over the course of the week to land at $92.69.
