A senior commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard has said the Iranian military will close the strategic Strait of Hormuz unless the US and its allies stop "threatening" Tehran.
Brigadier General Hossein Salami, the acting commander of the elite security establishment of the Islamic republic, said Iran "will not allow any entry" if the Americans continue to threaten the Republic.
On Monday, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had criticised US military drills in the Persian Gulf.
During a televised broadcast on Tuesday the second-in-command at the Revolutionary Guards said the US "should learn from its recent mistakes" or face the consequences, Iran's Press TV reported.
Salami said Iran will "decisively confront" any menacing passage through the Strait of Hormuz as per the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) of 1982.
The Strait of Hormuz is strategically important as nearly a third of the world's traded oil passes through it.
The US Navy started maritime exercise involving as many as 30 countries in the regional waters earlier n April. The drills were meant to ensure international trade routes remained free of threats.
The Iranian supreme leader criticised the drills saying the Americans should explain why they chose the region to hold exercises.
