Iran threatens to close Straights of Hormuz

The Hill:
The second-in-command of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard is warning it will close access to the strategic Strait of Hormuz if the United States or its allies “threaten” the country, Iranian state media reported Wednesday.

“If the Americans and their regional allies want to pass through the Strait of Hormuz and threaten us, we will not allow any entry," Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami said on state TV.

The strait, through which about a third of all oil traded by sea passes, has been the site of confrontations between the United States and Iran in the past.
Recently, in December, Iran conducted a live-fire exercise with little notice just 1,500 yards away from U.S. and French aircraft carriers that were transiting the strait. And in January, in the Persian Gulf near the strait, the Iranian military warned a U.S. Navy ship that it was too close to a naval drill.

“The Americans should learn from recent historical truths,” Salami said.

Salami did not elaborate but was likely referring to the detention of 10 U.S. sailors in January, an episode Iran has used for propaganda purposes.

Salami’s comments come days after Iran's supreme leader warned the U.S. military to stay out of the Persian Gulf, where it has an aircraft carrier strike group.
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This does not sound like a smart move by Iran.  While it might inconvenience some of the US allies in the region, the Saudis have a pipeline to offload oil in the Red Sea.  Then there is the fact that the US Navy is still a potent enough force to wipe out Iran's navy and Iran would be giving the US an excuse to do just that.

It is not clear what threats Iran is talking about from the US and its allies.

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