LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) -

A senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) commander said on Wednesday that the Guards were ready to implement a policy preventing regional oil exports if Iranian oil sales were banned by the United States.

President Hassan Rouhani appeared on Tuesday to threaten to disrupt oil shipments from neighboring countries if Washington presses ahead with its goal of forcing all countries to stop buying Iranian oil.

Praising Rouhani's remarks, Major-General Qassem Soleimani said he was ready to implement such a policy if needed.

"I kiss your (Rouhani's) hand for expressing such wise and timely comments, and I am at your service to implement any policy that serves the Islamic Republic," Soleimani, commander of foreign operations for the elite Revolutionary Guards, said in a letter published by state news agency IRNA.

Rouhani did not elaborate on his threat but Iranian officials have in the past threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route, in retaliation for any hostile U.S. action against Iran.