Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf’s remarks came in direct response to President Donald Trump’s threats on Sunday to block the Strait of Hormuz.
The average price of regular gasoline in the US currently stands at $4.125 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association.
That figure is already up more than 40 percent from pre-war levels of $2.98, and experts warn prices could climb further if the blockade disrupts global energy markets.
Tehran has been restricting passage through the Strait of Hormuz since the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran began on February 28.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy announced last week that the strait “will never return to its former state, especially for the US and Israel”.
Iran has allowed vessels serving neutral countries, such as China, to pass, while barring ships affiliated with aggressor nations and their supporters.
The Iranian parliament has advanced draft legislation to impose transit fees in the national currency and explicitly ban US and Israeli vessels.
Iran’s IRGC has warned that any military vessels approaching the strait would be met with “decisive force” and that the waterway remains under Iranian control.
MNA