Richard Goldberg, former head of the U.S. National Security Council’s team on countering Iran’s weapons of mass destruction program, dismissed Tehran’s threats to close the Strait of Hormuz.
His comments came in response to Ali Shariatmadari, a representative of Supreme Leader Khamenei in Kayhan newspaper, who claimed oil prices could surge to $200 a barrel if the strait were shut.
Goldberg argued that such a move would amount to “economic suicide” for Iran. He stressed that the $200 figure is unrealistic and that, since China receives half of its oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, the main pressure from such a closure would actually fall on Beijing.
At the same time, the Islamic Republic itself would suffer a devastating financial collapse.