BAGHDAD — Iraq's oil minister is urging Iran to keep a strategic water route in the Persian Gulf open to the transportation of the crude that fuels the world economy.
Abdul-Karim Elaibi, who is also the rotating president of OPEC, says he will travel to Iran on Thursday to convince Tehran to assure the world that the Islamic Republic will not close the Strait of Hormuz, the vital waterway through which about one-sixth of the world's oil flows.
Elaibi's comments to reporters Wednesday come amid concerns that Iran might try to close the strait in retaliation for new sanctions and a possible embargo on its oil exports.
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