The United States is warning of a possible military response to Iran's threat to blockade a key maritime oil transport route.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Iran on Sunday that the U.S. made it very clear it will not tolerate the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz.

The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army General Martin Dempsey, recognized that Iranians have the ability to block the integral strait "for a period of time.”

He said the U.S. has invested in capabilities to ensure that if that happens it can be defeated, and the U.S. "would take action and reopen the strait.”

Both Panetta and Dempsey made their remarks in a joint interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

The Strait of Hormuz is a key artery through which a third of global oil tankers pass through.

Against the West's moves to sanction Iran's nuclear development, the Middle Eastern state has threatened to choke off oil supply by closing the strait.