Iran has warned it could shut down more key maritime trade routes after closing the Strait of Hormuz, escalating tensions with the United States as President Donald Trump ordered a renewed naval blockade of Iranian ports.
In a statement carried by state news agency IRNA on Wednesday, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared that “all other export corridors that benefit the U.S. and its allies” could also become targets.
“Regional energy exports are either shared by all, or denied to all,” the statement said.
The latest warning has heightened fears that Iran could enlist its Houthi allies in Yemen to block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic gateway linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. The waterway is a vital route for Saudi oil exports and a significant portion of global shipping.
Security analysts say such a move would effectively open a second maritime front, threatening another of the world’s most important energy corridors.
A senior Houthi official signalled that possibility earlier this week, warning that the group was prepared to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if Saudi Arabia continued military operations in Yemen. He claimed such a step could push global oil prices as high as $200 per barrel.
The warning followed renewed hostilities between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia after the Iran-backed group accused Riyadh of bombing an airport under its control, ending a four-year truce. In response, Houthi forces launched missile attacks toward Saudi territory.
The Houthis have previously demonstrated their ability to disrupt international trade. Following the outbreak of the Gaza war in October 2023, the group repeatedly targeted commercial vessels in the Red Sea, saying the attacks were aimed at ships linked to Israel.
The latest developments came a day after the U.S. military announced a fresh wave of strikes targeting Iranian military assets used to support attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
Washington accused Iran of attacking seven commercial vessels over the past week, leaving nearly a dozen crew members dead, injured or missing.
The U.S. Central Command said dozens of military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and along Iran’s southern coast were struck during a seven-hour operation on Tuesday.
Iranian officials said the strikes caused significant casualties.
Government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said at least 30 civilians had been killed in southern Iran in recent days, while the Iranian military reported that seven soldiers, including conscripts, died in overnight strikes on the Bampur military base.
The Revolutionary Guards insisted the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until what they described as “the end of America’s evils.”
Before fighting erupted in February, roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments passed through the narrow waterway each day.
The IRGC also claimed responsibility for attacks on what it described as U.S. military infrastructure across the region.
According to the Guards, they struck command, logistics and fuel facilities linked to the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, destroyed a U.S. logistics site in Kuwait’s Mina Abdullah, and targeted aircraft hangars at the Azraq air base in Jordan.
Kuwait’s state news agency confirmed that firefighters had brought a blaze under control at a facility hit during Iranian attacks but did not specify whether it was the same location mentioned by the IRGC.
Jordan, meanwhile, said its air defence systems intercepted and destroyed three Iranian ballistic missiles that entered its airspace early Wednesday.
The latest escalation has shattered the fragile ceasefire reached in June after months of fighting between Washington and Tehran that claimed thousands of lives.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday warned that Iran’s energy infrastructure could become the next target if Tehran refuses to return to the negotiating table.
“I’ll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we’ll hit energy targets,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News.
He added that U.S. officials had delivered a direct message to Tehran, urging Iranian leaders to resume negotiations before the conflict escalates further.
Trump had earlier floated imposing a 20 percent fee on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, drawing criticism from the United Nations’ shipping agency and maritime industry groups. He later abandoned the proposal, saying instead that his administration would pursue investment agreements with Gulf states.
The deepening confrontation has rattled global energy markets.
Oil prices extended their gains on Wednesday after climbing two percent in the previous session, amid growing concerns that prolonged disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could tighten global supplies.
Brent crude closed at its highest level since June 12, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate reached its strongest level since June 15. Both benchmarks continued to rise in early Wednesday trading as investors monitored the rapidly escalating conflict.
