Iran has announced that it could shut down other major global shipping routes used to transport oil and other goods, as tensions with the United States continue to escalate.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said it could close “all other oil trade routes that are vital to the United States and its allies,” according to Iranian state media.
The IRGC declared that either everyone in the region will be allowed to transport oil, or no one will.
Security analysts say Iran could use its allied Houthi movement in Yemen to try to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. The waterway is one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes and carries a significant share of oil exports from Saudi Arabia.
A senior Houthi official said the group is prepared to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if Saudi Arabia continues its military operations in Yemen. He warned that such a move could send global oil prices soaring.
The latest threat comes after the United States announced a new military campaign aimed at reducing Iran’s ability to attack commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Washington says Iran attacked seven commercial vessels in the previous week, resulting in deaths, injuries, and missing crew members.
Iranian military officials said the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until what they described as “America’s hostile actions” come to an end. Before the conflict, nearly one-fifth of the world’s daily oil and gas supplies passed through the strait.
Iran also claimed it had launched attacks on U.S. military facilities in Bahrain in retaliation for American operations in Hormuz.
Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump warned that the United States could target Iran’s energy infrastructure and bridges in the coming week if Tehran refuses to return to negotiations.
The confrontation between Iran and the United States has intensified again after a brief ceasefire.
Any further disruption to key maritime chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait could have serious consequences for global trade, particularly oil shipments, and may drive up energy prices around the world.
