Iran’s army is ready to protect its commercial fleet, including crude oil tankers, from any threats, a senior Iranian military commander said on Monday, in an apparent response to last week’s U.S. advisory to all countries and ports doing business with Iran that Iranian ships are a “floating liability.” “Iran’s armed forces…are prepared today as in the past to protect our fleet of oil tankers against any threats so that it can continue to use marine waterways,” Iran’s semi-official news agency ISNA quoted Rear-Admiral Mahmoud Mousavi, a deputy commander of the regular armed forces, as saying on Monday. Last week, after the U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil, shipping, and insurance industries returned, the Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said at a press briefing that “If Iranian tankers make calls to your ports or transit through your waterways, this comes at great risk.” “From the Suez Canal to the […]