What we need now is stability and wisdom, especially since there are positive indications in this issue," the foreign minister said after meeting with acting speaker Mohammad Al-Huwailah. On Monday, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards General Mohammad Ali Jafari said Tehran has the power to close the Strait of Hormuz through which most of the Gulf oil passes to the rest of the world. Jafari said that given the equipment Iranian armed forces have, an indefinite blockade of Hormuz would be very easy.
Several lawmakers meanwhile blasted the new Iranian threats and called on the government to take all necessary precautions in case military hostilities break out between Iran and the United States. MP Huwailah considered the new Iranian threats as an "escalation" that will have consequences on GCC states and the rest of the world because the strategic waterway is the "world’s oil lifeline".
Huwailah urged Iran to be a source for stability in the region which has greatly suffered from three decades of wars and conflicts. He also called on Iran to resort to diplomacy to resolve its problems with others in order to spare the region of catastrophes that could hit all states in the region including Iran itself.
Islamist MP Faisal Al-Muslim said he opposed any military strike against Iran and supported Iran’s right for a peaceful nuclear energy program, but added that states in the region and its people should not be punished by closing Hormuz. Muslim called on the Iranian leadership to differentiate between their real enemy and the people and states of the region who have the right to live in peace like Iran.
The lawmaker however criticized the government for not making any serious effort to prepare the country for any eventuality, saying the government has no strategy in this respect. He said that there are power and water cuts everyday and in most areas without a war, "so let’s imagine what would be the situation if a war breaks out".
MP Nasser Al-Sane called on the Iranian government to stop increasing tension in the region through issuing threats to shut Hormuz, which means blocking Gulf oil exports. He also called on the government to take all necessary precautions including emergency plans to export oil if Iran carries out its threat.
