An adviser to Iran’s supreme leader has compared control over the Strait of Hormuz to having an “atomic bomb”, vowing not to relinquish it.

Adviser Mohammad Mokhber says Iran has long “neglected” its privileged position along the strait, a vital conduit for oil and gas shipments that Tehran shut early in the Middle East war, throwing markets into turmoil and stranding hundreds of vessels.

“The Strait of Hormuz represents an opportunity as precious as an atomic bomb,” he says in a video published by the Mehr news agency. “Indeed, having in one’s hands a position that allows you to influence the global economy with a single decision is a major opportunity.”

Pledging not to “forfeit the gains of this war”, he went on to say Iran would “change the [legal] regime of this strait”, through international law if possible, and unilaterally if not.