Iran Threatens to Shut All Energy Exports from Gulf if US Attacks Continue
Iran has threatened to halt all energy exports from the Middle East after the US reimposed a blockade on its ports and ships. The threat was made as US strikes on Iran entered their fifth day, a situation that increasingly jeopardises a temporary agreement between the two sides.
The Guardian reported that the US blockade took effect early on Wednesday, prompting Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz and launch a series of retaliatory air strikes against countries hosting US military bases in the region.
‘The region’s energy exports are either shared by all or enjoyed by no one,’ the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement on Wednesday. They added that the strait would remain closed until ‘the end of American crimes’, further disrupting shipping in the waterway—a vital chokepoint that, before the war, was crucial for the transit of a fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies.
The surge in violence and disruption to shipping activity has further boosted oil prices. Crude oil prices continued to climb on Wednesday, surpassing the one-month highs recorded on Tuesday.
US officials stated that Iran had attacked seven commercial vessels in the strait over the past week, resulting in nearly a dozen crew members killed, missing, or wounded. Iran also launched air strikes against Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait. These countries host US troop deployments.
Jordan said it intercepted three ballistic missiles from Iran on Wednesday, while Kuwait stated it was working to extinguish fires caused by the Iranian strikes.
At least 30 civilians have died in US strikes in southern Iran in recent days, according to Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani. At least seven Iranian soldiers were killed in a US strike on the Bampur military base in the country’s southeastern region.
The dispute over the strait threatens to drag the region back into a full-scale war. Donald Trump stated he would begin targeting power plants and bridges in Iran if a deal is not reached by next week. Targeting civilian infrastructure without a clear military objective could be categorised as a war crime.
‘Next week it’s going to be very bad for them because we’re going after the power plants. Next week it’s the bridges,’ the US president said in an interview with Fox News on Tuesday. ‘We will take out all of their power plants. We will take out all of their bridges unless they are willing to sit down and negotiate.’
Trump said US negotiators had contacted Iran to push for a deal, adding that the US would delay targeting energy facilities until the final stages but would ultimately strike them.
Trump made similar remarks in March, when he threatened to ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants and water treatment facilities if Tehran did not agree to peace terms soon.