The embargo to be placed on the export of Iranian oil has elicited different reactions from countries that are hostile to Tehran and those which maintain relations with it; a matter that carries with it serious implications for trade in the Middle East and further afield, in Europe and America.In response to these events, Hassan Rouhani, President of the Islamic Republic, told a news conference in Geneva that, “there is no justification for not exporting Iranian oil while oil from the region is still being exported.”Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of the National Security Committee of the National Security Council, announced that the United States is applying an incoherent or contradictory policy and its actions are a flagrant violation of international laws and norms.Although Rouhani refrained from elucidating any further as to whether his statements imported threats or not, a day after his remarks were made, US crude rose by $1.17 to reach $75.11 per barrel, the highest since November 2014; whilst Brent crude added $1.03 to reach $78.33 per barrel.In spite of the US Central Administration’s statement that the US Navy and its regional allies are ready to guarantee freedom of navigation and uninterrupted passage through the Strait of Hormuz, creating a new crisis in the region will not benefit the world’s consumers, especially given that 46 percent of world’s oil exports pass through the strait, which is under Iranian control.
