Rubio warns Iran not to close Strait of Hormuz as tensions mount

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has warned Iran against closing the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route, after Iranian lawmakers backed such a move which would likely disrupt global oil exports.

“If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake,” Rubio said on Sunday, less than 24 hours after the US launched airstrikes on key Iranian nuclear sites in what marked a major escalation in the war between Israel and Iran.

Closing the key shipping route between Iran and Oman, which is around 55 kilometres wide, would amount to “economic suicide” for Tehran, Rubio told US broadcaster Fox News.

“It would hurt other countries’ economies a lot worse than ours,” the US secretary of state said.

“It would be, I think, a massive escalation that would have merit a response, not just by us, but from others.”

Earlier on Sunday, the Iranian parliament backed closing the Strait of Hormuz, according a member of the parliamentary security committee.

However, the final decision lies with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the last say in all strategic matters.