Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has threatened to close all other energy-export corridors that benefit the United States and its allies, according to reports in the country’s media.
The threat came after Iran had once again closed the Strait of Hormuz and the United States had again imposed a blockade on Iran’s ports.
In a statement carried on Wednesday by Iran’s state news agency IRNA, the IRGC said: “Either everyone benefits from regional energy exports, or no one will.”
According to analysts, Iran is essentially signalling the possible closure of the Bab el-Mandeb strait — the gateway to the Red Sea — through its allied group in Yemen, the Houthis. That would put two of the world’s most important energy-transport routes at risk.
The narrow strait links the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. A large share of Saudi Arabia’s oil exports and of global maritime cargo passes through the route.
Iran’s Press TV reported that a senior Houthi official had also issued a warning last Monday, saying that if Saudi Arabia continued its attacks on Yemen, the Houthis were ready to close the Bab el-Mandeb strait. He claimed that, if that happened, the price of oil on the international market could rise to $200 a barrel.
Meanwhile, on Monday the Houthis fired retaliatory missiles at Saudi Arabia, alleging that it had bombed an airport under their control. The exchange broke a four-year ceasefire between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi group.
The Houthis have already shown that they can disrupt global trade by closing the Bab el-Mandeb strait. After Israel launched its war in Gaza in October 2023, the Iran-backed group began a series of attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, saying it was targeting Israel-linked vessels in solidarity with the Palestinians.
The IRGC issued its latest threat a day after the US military announced a fresh round of strikes on Iran to “weaken” its ability to attack commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States says Iran has attacked seven commercial ships over the past week, leaving nearly a dozen sailors dead, missing or injured.
On Tuesday night, the US military said it had struck dozens of military sites around the Strait of Hormuz and along Iran’s coast. US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that the operation had been carried out over seven straight hours.
The IRGC said on Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed “until the United States ends its malign activities.” Before the war began in February, nearly 20 percent of the world’s total oil and gas shipments passed through the strait each day. The IRGC claimed that, in response to the US strikes in the strait, it had attacked several installations of the US Fifth Fleet based in Bahrain.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report