“On 29 June, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Mohammad Ali Jafari, said that if either Israel or the U.S. attacked Iran, it would seal off the strait to wreak havoc in the oil markets. Cosgriff warned that such Iranian action would be considered an act of war, and the U.S. would not allow Iran to hold hostage a third of the world’s oil supply.[60] On 8 July, Ali Shirazi, a mid-level clerical aide to Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted telling the Revolutionary Guards, “The Zionist regime is pressuring White House officials to attack Iran. If they commit such a stupidity, Tel Aviv and U.S. shipping in the Persian Gulf will be Iran’s first targets and they will be burned.”[61]”
From the same Wikipedia page, 2012:
"On 27 December 2011, Iranian vice president Mohammad Reza Rahimi threatened to cut off oil supply from the strait should economic sanctions limit, or cut off, Iranian oil exports.[64] A U.S. Fifth Fleet spokeswoman said the Fleet was “always ready to counter malevolent actions”, whilst Admiral Habibollah Sayyari of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy claimed cutting off oil shipments would be “easy”.[65 "
Same article further down:
In July 2018, Iran again made threats to close the strait, citing looming American sanctions after the U.S. withdrew from the JCPOA deal.[79] In August, Iran test-fired a ballistic missile. According to the officials, the anti-ship Fateh-110 Mod 3 flew over 100 miles on a flight path over the strait to a test range in the Iranian desert. “It was shore-to-shore”, said a U.S. official.[80]
On 22 April 2019, the U.S. ended the oil waivers, which had allowed some of Iran’s customers to import Iranian oil, without risking financial penalties as part of U.S. economic sanctions. Al Jazeera quoted Major-General Mohammad Bagheri of the Iranian Armed Forces, stating “We are not after closing the Strait of Hormuz but if the hostility of the enemies increases, we will be able to do so…[81] If our oil does not pass, the oil of others shall not pass the Strait of Hormuz either”.[82]
So don’t tell me any of this shit was unexpected in any way. It was the plan all along.
Per Wikipedia, this happened in 2008:
“On 29 June, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Mohammad Ali Jafari, said that if either Israel or the U.S. attacked Iran, it would seal off the strait to wreak havoc in the oil markets. Cosgriff warned that such Iranian action would be considered an act of war, and the U.S. would not allow Iran to hold hostage a third of the world’s oil supply.[60] On 8 July, Ali Shirazi, a mid-level clerical aide to Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was quoted telling the Revolutionary Guards, “The Zionist regime is pressuring White House officials to attack Iran. If they commit such a stupidity, Tel Aviv and U.S. shipping in the Persian Gulf will be Iran’s first targets and they will be burned.”[61]”
From the same Wikipedia page, 2012:
"On 27 December 2011, Iranian vice president Mohammad Reza Rahimi threatened to cut off oil supply from the strait should economic sanctions limit, or cut off, Iranian oil exports.[64] A U.S. Fifth Fleet spokeswoman said the Fleet was “always ready to counter malevolent actions”, whilst Admiral Habibollah Sayyari of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy claimed cutting off oil shipments would be “easy”.[65 "
Same article further down:
In July 2018, Iran again made threats to close the strait, citing looming American sanctions after the U.S. withdrew from the JCPOA deal.[79] In August, Iran test-fired a ballistic missile. According to the officials, the anti-ship Fateh-110 Mod 3 flew over 100 miles on a flight path over the strait to a test range in the Iranian desert. “It was shore-to-shore”, said a U.S. official.[80]
On 22 April 2019, the U.S. ended the oil waivers, which had allowed some of Iran’s customers to import Iranian oil, without risking financial penalties as part of U.S. economic sanctions. Al Jazeera quoted Major-General Mohammad Bagheri of the Iranian Armed Forces, stating “We are not after closing the Strait of Hormuz but if the hostility of the enemies increases, we will be able to do so…[81] If our oil does not pass, the oil of others shall not pass the Strait of Hormuz either”.[82]
So don’t tell me any of this shit was unexpected in any way. It was the plan all along.