Tehran: The chairman of Iran`s Joint Chiefs of Staff says the decision over whether Tehran would block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the passageway through which a fifth of the world`s oil flows, rests in the hands of the country`s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Gen Hasan Firouzabadi says Iran has a contingency plan to close the key route, but Khamenei, as commander in chief of the armed forces, would have to make the final decision. Firouzabadi`s comments come two weeks after the European Union enforced a total oil embargo against Iran for its refusal to halt its uranium enrichment programme.
His comments were reported by the semi-official Fars news agency today.
Iran`s Revolutionary Guard has previously warned that Tehran would order the closure if the country`s oil exports were blocked. IANS