By Jasper Ward WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called on China to encourage Iran to not shut down the Strait of Hormuz after Washington carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, in what would serve as another act of retaliation after the U.S. launched strikes on three key Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend.

The war between Israel and Iran has raised concerns that Iran could retaliate by trying to close the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil chokepoint in terms of the large volumes of crude that pass through it every day.