Hormuz can’t be replaced – Iranian general (VIDEO)

New energy routes would take years to build and come at a heavy cost, IRGC adviser Mohammad Reza Naqdi has told RT The Strait of Hormuz will remain indispensable to global energy trade despite efforts by Persian Gulf states to develop alternative export routes, a top Iranian military advisor has told RT.In an exclusive interview with the outlet, Mohammad Reza Naqdi, a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander and adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, argued that the strategic waterway cannot easily be replaced given the concentration of oil and gas production in the Gulf.“The Strait of Hormuz will never lose importance. [The Persian Gulf] is the production site for oil and gas. Oil wells cannot be moved elsewhere,” Naqdi told RT correspondent Saman Kojouri.The veteran brigadier general also pointed to the time and expense involved in developing new energy infrastructure. “If they want to find alternative routes to transport oil and such, it takes many years and incurs very heavy costs,” he said.Oil-producing Gulf states have been pursuing additional infrastructure and export routes as shipping through the Strait remains severely disrupted, with July transit volumes down...