Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday urged China to intervene to prevent Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz, which is one of the most important shipping routes for the world.
In an interview on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures,” host Maria Bartiromo asked Rubio whether he expected Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz in an effort to disrupt oil transportation globally.
“I would encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil,” Rubio replied.
As the world braces for possible retaliation from Iran — after the United States bombed three of its nuclear sites on Saturday — Rubio warned on Sunday that closing the vital strait would be “economic suicide” for Tehran.
He also warned that other countries could intervene if Iran takes that step.
“If they do that, it’ll be another terrible mistake. It’s economic suicide for them if they do it,” Rubio said. “And we retain options to deal with that.”
“But other countries should be looking at that as well,” he added. “It would hurt other countries’ economies a lot worse than ours. It would be, I think, a massive escalation that would merit a response not just by us but from others.”
A spokesperson for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, Guo Jiakun, deflected when asked on Monday what China would do if Iran closed the strait, saying the international community should “step up its efforts to promote the de-escalation of the conflict,” The New York Times reported.
Rubio made clear in the Fox Business interview that the U.S. would only strike again if Iran retaliates.
“What happens next will depend on what they do,” he said. “They want to negotiate, we’re ready to negotiate. They want to get cute and do things that are dangerous, we have responses available that are devastating.”
The Iranian Parliament on Sunday approved a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz after the United States bombed nuclear sites in Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow, the last of which is located inside a mountain
Closing the strait, located between Iran and Oman, could have serious implications for both the global and U.S. economy.
The Strait of Hormuz’s width and depth allow it to handle the world’s largest crude oil tankers, and very few alternatives exist if it is closed, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), making it a critical choke point for oil shipments. Approximately 20 million barrels, or 20 percent of global consumption, flowed through the strait in 2024.