Iran warns of wider seaway blockade as U.S. renews pressure

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Iran warns of wider seaway blockade

Highlights

Iran threatened to block more export routes.
Hormuz remains the main oil risk.
Bab el-Mandeb could become a second flashpoint.
Brent and WTI rose on supply fears.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it could close “all other export corridors that benefit the U.S. and its allies,” Iranian media reported, after Tehran shut Hormuz and Washington renewed its blockade, Reuters reported. The IRGC said regional energy exports were “either shared by all or denied to all.”

Iran broadens the threat

The statement marked a sharper attempt by Tehran to frame energy flows as leverage against Washington and its allies. The IRGC said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until what it described as “the end of America’s evils.”

The Strait of Hormuz is a key artery for oil and gas shipments. Even a partial supply disruption would weigh on energy markets, shipping insurers and governments that depend on crude from the Persian Gulf.

Experts said Iran may also use its Houthi allies in Yemen to threaten Bab el-Mandeb, the narrow gateway linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. The route is critical for Saudi oil exports and a large share of global commercial shipping.

U.S. strikes deepen confrontation

The latest warning followed another wave of U.S. strikes near the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian coastal areas. U.S. Central Command said the operation lasted seven hours and targeted military sites used to attack commercial shipping.

Washington said Iran had attacked seven commercial ships over the past week, leaving nearly a dozen crew members killed, missing, or injured. Iran, in turn, said it targeted U.S.-linked facilities in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan, though some details could not be independently verified.

President Donald Trump also threatened to hit Iranian power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran resumes negotiations. He said U.S. negotiators had told Iran it “better make a deal.”

Two chokepoints, one wider crisis

The danger for global markets is that two energy arteries could come under pressure at once. Hormuz carries a major share of Gulf oil and gas, while Bab el-Mandeb links Red Sea shipping with the Gulf of Aden.

Oil prices rose as traders reacted to the escalation. Brent gained 0.89% to $85.48, while WTI rose 0.60% to $79.82, according to the latest market data shown Wednesday. Both contracts had already closed at one-month highs in the previous session as supply disruption fears deepened.

We also reported Hormuz tensions rise after new U.S. and Iran attacks.

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