TEHRAN, JUL 12: An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader said on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz was more important than “dozens of atomic bombs,” vowing to protect the vital waterway.

“This strategic passage is more important than dozens of atomic bombs, and the Islamic Republic of Iran will protect it,” Mohsen Rezaei was quoted by the ISNA news agency as saying.

Western countries accuse Iran of seeking to create an atomic bomb, but Tehran has insisted its nuclear program is for peaceful, civilian purposes.

Tehran announced it was closing the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday and launched missiles and drones at its Gulf neighbors, in retaliation for new US strikes following an attack by Iranian forces on a merchant vessel that was abandoned in flames by its crew.

The tensions threatened an interim agreement aimed at ending the Middle East war, which broke out in late February with massive US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s former supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

A roadblock to a final agreement is the future of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed to commercial shipping during the war.

The waterway is a key conduit for oil and gas exports from the Gulf, and its closure during the war has heavily impacted the world economy.

Iran insists on controlling the passage of ships and plans to charge fees, a stance Washington has rejected.

The US Central Command announced later on Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz was open to all vessels and that US military forces are “positioned and prepared” to ensure freedom of navigation.