Iranian military spokesman: the U.S. will be “slapped” if it intervenes in the Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s armed forces chief spokesman, General Sardar Shekarchi, has threatened that the United States will be “slapped” if it intervenes in the Strait of Hormuz, as Al Jazeera reports, citing the Iranian news agency Tasnim.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a world power, will never allow America to return to its previous position in the new world order,” Shekarchi is quoted as saying. “The Americans dream of intervening in the Strait of Hormuz, and if they intervene in the Strait of Hormuz, they will be slapped.”

The statement follows U.S. President Donald Trump’s public rejection of the Iranian proposal for a seven-day plan that would reopen the strait in exchange for lifting the American naval blockade and the sanctions on Iranian oil.

Tensions around the strait — through which about a fifth of the world’s oil consumption passes — remain high, with Tehran insisting that Hormuz security cannot be restored through military action, but only by agreement.