Iran threatens to block more seaways as US strikes resume

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Wednesday vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and threatened to block additional energy export corridors in the region, a dramatic escalation that could remove millions of barrels of oil from global markets daily.

IRGC Issues Ultimatum

"Regional energy exports are either shared by all, or denied to all," the IRGC said in a statement carried by Iran's state news agency IRNA. The Guards declared that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed "until the end of America's evils" and warned it could shut down "all other export corridors that benefit the US and its allies."france24+2

Analysts say the threat signals a potential collaboration between Iran and its Houthi allies in Yemen to obstruct the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Before the conflict began in February, roughly 20% of global oil and gas shipments passed through the Strait of Hormuz, while oil transit through Bab el-Mandeb reached 9.3 million barrels per day in 2023 before falling sharply due to Houthi disruptions, according to Time.nypost+1

U.S. Blockade Sparks Retaliation

The threat came one day after the U.S. military announced fresh strikes aimed at "continuing to degrade Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz." U.S. Central Command reported drone, air, and naval assaults early Wednesday following a seven-hour overnight operation targeting Iran's coastal defenses and cruise missile sites on Greater Tunb Island.bbc

President Trump reinstated the naval blockade of Iranian ports on July 14, three weeks after it had been lifted as part of a truce. "The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran," Trump wrote on Truth Social, declaring the U.S. would become "THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT" and demanding a 20% levy on all cargo transiting the waterway.axios

Markets React to Escalation

Oil prices climbed on Wednesday following a 2% increase the previous day that brought them to a one-month high. Gulf stock markets have been under sustained pressure from the conflict, with most regional indexes extending losses as renewed hostilities weigh on investor sentiment. Saudi Aramco shares fell in recent sessions amid the broader regional uncertainty.reuters+2

The renewed standoff unravels a memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 that had temporarily ended nearly four months of war and reopened the strait. Iran had exported more than 40 million barrels of crude during the brief window of the accord, according to Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. On Tuesday, Trump threatened to strike Iranian power plants and bridges within the coming week unless Tehran resumes negotiations.nypost+1