Iranian response

It is a clear response: "If the United States or Europe considers it its right to ignore international laws to meet its own interests, Iran may also decide to respond in kind wherever possible". 
Iran threatens Hormuz and world oil supply after trade links cutoff 

Debka Files,

18 March, 2012

Intelligence Minister Ali Falahian, Iran’s senior spokesman on sanctions, said Sunday, March 18,  that if the US and Europe think they can ignore international law to promote their interests, they should know that Iran will respond in kind everywhere it can. “I suggest that the West take seriously our threat to close the Strait of Hormuz,” he said in Tehran’s first response to the SWIFT decision to sever ties with Iranian banks to enforce European sanctions on its nuclear program.

A large fleet of 4 US and French nuclear aircraft carriers and a dozen or more minesweepers and mine-hunting helicopters have piled up on both sides of the Strait of Hormuz, through which 17 percent of the world’s daily oil supply passes,  and Israeli naval vessels have deployed in the Red Sea.

DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources estimate Tehran may make good on its threats by trying to drop sea mines in the strategic strait and/or the approaches to the huge Saudi Ras Tanura oil export terminal. A small explosion by an unknown hand hit a major Saudi pipeline between Awamiya and Safwa on March 1. The damage was not great because the saboteurs used a small quantity of explosive but it appeared to be the work of professionals.

While Saudi officials denied the incident, photos of a large fire appeared on the Internet. Gulf oil sources suspect that it was a warning from Tehran of the hazards facing the world’s largest oil exporter.

The SWIFT cutoff of ties with Iranian banks has gone a long way toward isolating Iran from global commerce. It will affect Iranian oil sales to its biggest customers in the Far East, China and Japan, as well as India. The economic noose tightening around its neck is bound to produce a response from Iran, it is estimated in Washington and European capitals. The US-led European sanctions on Iranian oil world trade were boosted in recent weeks by the United Arab Emirates which stopped handling Iranian rials, further reducing its ability to trade and obtain hard currency.

After its foremost ally, Bashar Assad, proved his ability to survive - largely with abundant Iranian help - Tehran is unlikely to let this achievement be marred by a US and European economic stranglehold. The ordinary Iranian may care about his government’s international standing but he cares a lot more about the fast depreciating value of the money in his pocket and his financial assets.

Anticipating that Iran may kick back hard against the tough penalties building up against its nuclear program, three US aircraft carriers are standing by in the Persian Gulf – The USS Abraham Lincoln, the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Enterprise together with the French Charles de Gaulle and their strike groups.

Thursday, US Navy Chief Adm. Jonathan Greenert said he was doubling the American minesweeping fleet in the Persian Gulf by adding another four vessels as well as mine-hunting helicopters to bolster Persian Gulf security and keep the Strait of Hormuz open to international traffic.  

France, Britain, Holland and Germany have also deployed minesweepers in these strategic Gulf waters.

Tuesday, March 13, two Israeli missile corvettes, the INS Lahav and INS Yafo, crossed the Suez Canal on their way to the Red Sea accompanied by the French Imidisi supply ship.

The vast naval buildup of powerful warships confirms that the United States, Europe and Israel are braced for harsh Iranian retaliation across more than one part of the Middle East for the crippling sanctions now taking hold

And from Fars

Former Minister: Iran to Close Strait of Hormoz if Threatened

TEHRAN (FNA)- Former Iranian intelligence minister Ali Fallahian underlined the strategic significance of the Strait of Hormoz for Iran's defensive power, and repeated the country's earlier warnings that it would cut off the world oil lifeline if it is threatened militarily.

Fars,

18 March, 2012

Fallahian warned Western countries not to underestimate Iran's ability to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz in reaction to the West's escalating pressures. 

Reacting to reports about the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) decision to discontinue offering service to the Iranian banks, Fallahian said on Saturday that closing SWIFT to Iran is "like closing international waterways". 

"If the United States or Europe considers it its right to ignore international laws to meet its own interests, Iran may also decide to respond in kind wherever possible," he added. 

Israel and its close ally the United States have recently intensified their war rhetoric against Iran. The two arch foes of the Islamic Republic accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, while they have never presented any corroborative document to substantiate their allegations. Both Washington and Tel Aviv possess advanced weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear warheads. 

Iran vehemently denies the charges, insisting that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only. Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry. 

Iran has, in return, warned that it would target Israel and its worldwide interests in case it comes under attack by the Tel Aviv. 

The United States has long stressed that military action is a main option for the White House to deter Iran's progress in the field of nuclear technology. 

Iran has warned that in case of an attack by either the US or Israel, it will target 32 American bases in the Middle East and close the strategic Strait of Hormuz. 

An estimated 40 percent of the world's oil supply passes through the waterway.