Iran on Tuesday designated the US military’s Central Command a terrorist organization, accused Washington of sponsoring terrorism and repeated its threat to close the Strait of Hormuz.
It was Tehran’s response to US blacklisting this month of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and President Donald Trump’s move on Monday to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero, costing the country $15 billion a year in lost revenue.
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday welcomed the US announcement that eight countries’ exemptions from economic sanctions against buyers of Iranian oil would end on May 2.
“Saudi Arabia fully supports this step taken by the United States as it is necessary to force the Iranian regime to end its policy of destabilizing the region and its support and sponsorship of terrorism around the world,” Foreign Minister Ibrahim bin Abdul Aziz Al-Assaf said.
The Iranian regime used its oil income to finance dangerous policies without any consideration for international law, the minister said, and international pressure must continue until it stopped interfering in the domestic affairs of other countries.
Iran’s oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said the US had made a mistake by politicizing oil. “With all our power, we will work toward breaking America’s sanctions,” he said.
