RABAT, October 19. /TASS/. The Iranian authorities have no alternative to ensuring control over the Strait of Hormuz area by the Islamic Republic’s forces in order to safeguard the country’s security. Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref said this during a meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin in Dushanbe.

"Iran has no choice but to exercise sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz to ensure its own security," Aref said, as quoted by the IRNA news agency. The first vice president added that, in his view, "the United States bears responsibility for the current situation in the Strait of Hormuz."

"Washington will have to pay the appropriate price for this," the politician said.