Washington.- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called on China to encourage Iran not to close the Strait of Hormuz, after Washington carried out attacks on the Islamic Republic's nuclear facilities.

Rubio's comments to Fox News came after Iran's Press TV reported that Iran's parliament had approved a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world's oil and gas flows.

"I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them on this, because they depend heavily on the Strait of Hormuz for their oil," Rubio said.

"If they do this, it will be another terrible mistake. It's economic suicide for them if they do it. And we have options to address it, but other countries should also consider it. It would hurt other countries' economies much more than it would ours."

The United States has not ruled out the possibility of a military response if Iran threatens freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, added US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Rubio said a move to close the strait would be a massive escalation that would warrant a response from the United States and other countries.

"I'm not going to rule out any action by the president (of the United States, Donald Trump). We're not willing to discuss this as an inevitable scenario, but if Iran decides to close the strait, the first to be outraged will be the Chinese, who depend on the oil that passes through it," Rubio said in an interview with CBS.