UN General Assembly
1987

In that regard, I know that the President of Iran will be addressing representatives tomorrow. I take this opportunity to call upon him clearly and unequivocally to state whether Iran accepts Security Council resolution 598 (1987) or not. If the answer is positive, it would be a welcome step and a major breakthrough. If it is negative, the Council has no choice but rapidly to adopt enforcement measures. For 40 years the United States has made clear its vital interest in the security of the Persian Gulf and the countries that border it. The oil reserves there are of strategic importance to the economies of the free world. We are committed to maintaining the free flow of this oil and to preventing the domination of the region by any hostile Power.