US urges China to dissuade Iran from closing Strait of Hormuz
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called on China to encourage Iran not to shut down the Strait of Hormuz after the United States carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
Rubio’s remarks came during an appearance on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, following Iranian state media reports that Iran’s parliament had approved a measure to close the vital waterway, through which roughly 20% of global oil and gas flows.
“I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil,” Rubio said. “If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake. It’s economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries’ economies a lot worse than ours.”
Rubio warned that closing the strait would mark a major escalation and said the U.S. and others would respond accordingly. The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately comment.
U.S. officials said the strikes “obliterated” Iran’s main nuclear sites using 14 bunker-buster bombs, over two dozen Tomahawk missiles, and more than 125 military aircraft—marking a serious escalation in Middle Eastern tensions.
Tehran has vowed to defend itself, but Rubio cautioned against retaliation. “That would be the worst mistake they’ve ever made,” he said, though he added that the U.S. remains open to talks with Iran.
Credit: Reuters
