‘War of Hormuz’ in offing as Iran, West up stakes

With the US and the West increasing pressure on Asian countries to stop buying Iranian oil, Iran on Friday escalated tensions by announcing fresh military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has threatened to block the narrow strait through which a fifth of the world's oil supplies reach markets, in retaliation for US-led trade sanctions against it over its nuclear ambitions.

The Iranian armed forces, fresh off 10 days of naval exercises near the strait that ended this week, vowed to hold a new round of war games soon.

Iranian defence minister Brig Gen Ahmad Vahidi, in comments reported by the semi-official Fars News Agency, said the military's exercises would be ''its greatest naval war games'' and would occur ''in the same region in the near future.''

American and British officials have vowed to use force to unclog the international waterway, the narrow outlet through which one-fifth of the world's oil trade exits the Persian Gulf.