The United States is asking China to prevent Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called on China to prevent Iran from closing the Hurmos Strait, one of the most important shipping methods in the world.

His comments came after the state -run Iranian press television stated that Parliament had approved a plan to close the strait, but added that the final decision lies in the Supreme National Security Council.

Any disruption to provide oil will have deep consequences for the global economy. China in particular is the largest buyer in the world of Iranian oil and has a close relationship with Tehran.

Oil prices rose after the US attack, as Brent crude price reached its highest level in five months.

“I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to contact them (Iran) about this, because it relies heavily on the Strait of Hermoz for its Ziouz,” Marco Rubio said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday.

“If they close the strait) … economic suicide will be for them. We keep options for dealing with that, but other countries should look at it as well. The economies of other countries will harm much worse than our countries.”

About 20 % of oil in the world passes through the Strait of Hermoz, with major oil and gas producers in the Middle East using the waterway to transport energy from the region.

Any attempt to disable operations in the strait can send global oil prices to rise.

They jumped to their highest levels since January, when Brent crude price reaches $ 78.89 a barrel as of 23:22 GMT on Sunday.

“The United States is now in an overwhelming defensive position in the region to be ready for any anti -Iran attacks. But the risk of oil prices is that the situation may escalate significantly,” said Saul Cavon, head of Energy Research at MST Financial, said.

The cost of crude oil affects everything from the amount of the cost of filling your car to the price of food in the supermarket.

China in particular is buying more oil from Iran than any other country – as oil imports from Iran exceed 1.8 million barrels per day last month, according to data tracking Fortaxisa.

Energy analyst Vandana Harry said that Iran “does not gain much and a lot of loss” from closing the strait.

“Iran is risking the conversion of oil and gas -producing neighbors into enemies and summoning the anger of its main market, China, by disrupting traffic in the strait,” Harry told BBC News.

The United States joined the conflict between Iran and Israel during the weekend, as President Donald Trump said Washington “blurring” the main nuclear sites in Tehran.

However, it is not clear how much damage caused strikes, as the United Nations Nuclear Control Authority says it has not been able to assess the damage to the underground nuclear site. Iran said that there was only slight damage to Fordo.

Trump also warned Iran that they will face “much worse” future attacks if they do not give up their nuclear program.

On Monday, Beijing said that the US attack had affected Washington’s credibility and called for an immediate ceasefire.

The United Nations Ambassador to China Fu Kong said that all parties should burn “the motive of power … and the addition of fuel to the fire,” according to a report run by the closed TV circles managed by the country.

In an editorial, the Global Times in Beijing also said that the participation of the United States in Iran “was more complicated and destabilized in the situation in the Middle East” and that it was pushing the conflict to “an irreplaceable situation.”