The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard’s navy said on Tuesday Israel’s presence in the United Arab Emirates was viewed as a threat by Tehran and itcould close the Strait of Hormuz if deemed necessary.

Iran has threatened to retaliate for suspected Israeli airstrikes on its consulate in Syria’s capital on April 1 that killed seven Revolutionary Guards officers including two senior commanders – stoking tensions between the arch enemies already heightened by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

“We do not get hit without striking back, but we are also not hasty in our retaliation,” Tangsiri said, according to Iran’s semi-official Student News Agency.

“We can close the Hormuz Strait but are not doing so. However, if the enemy comes to disrupt us, we will review our policy,” Tangsiri said.

About a fifth of the volume of the world’s total oil consumption passes through the strait on a daily basis. An average of 20.5 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, condensate and oil products passed through Hormuz in January-September 2023, data from analytics firm Vortexa showed.

The UAE, situated across the Gulf from Iran, became the most prominent Arab nation to forge diplomatic ties with Israel in 30 years under a U.S.-brokered accord in 2020, though Abu Dhabi also has normal diplomatic and commercial relations with Tehran.

“We know that the Zionists (Israel) were not brought to the UAE for economic purposes but rather for security and military work. This is a threat to us and should not happen,” Revolutionary Guards Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri added.

Source: Reuters reported by Dubai Newsroom and edited by Mark Heinrich and Angus MacSwan