Any potential military conflict between the United States and Iran would pose a serious threat to global energy security and could result in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the secretary of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations warned on Thursday.

Jalal Dehghani Firouzabadi stated that if war were to break out in the region, energy supplies would be put at risk and the strategic waterway could be shut down, The Caspian Post reports, citing Iran International.

He further noted that such a move would have significant consequences, particularly for China.

According to Firouzabadi, China would be the first country to suffer from a closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which is why, he argued, Beijing opposes the prospect of war in the region.