Iran threatens to halt Middle East energy exports after US reimposes blockade, says ‘all or none’ | Today’s news
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards threatened to halt all energy exports from the Middle East on Wednesday after the United States reimposed a naval blockade on Iran and stepped up its airstrike campaign.
“Exporting oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one,” it said.
The United States reimposed a naval blockade on Iran on Wednesday and escalated its airstrikes after Tehran attacked ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. The strikes hit an Iranian military barracks, killing at least seven soldiers and wounding more than 260 people, Iranian officials said.
The United States on Wednesday launched a wave of strikes against Iran… designed to further degrade the military capabilities Iranian forces used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, US Central Command (CENTCOM) posted on X Wednesday.
Trump says he will “bomb Iran until it backs down”, Tehran responds
Trump vowed on Tuesday to continue bombing until Iran backs down.
“We’re going to hit them very hard tomorrow night,” he told Fox News on Tuesday. “We’re going to hit them very hard the next night. And next week it’s going to be really bad for them because the power plants are coming in. We’re going to knock out all their bridges if they don’t come to the table and negotiate.”
Iran’s energy goals will be left “for last,” he said.
Iran shows no signs of backing down. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – whose navy is behind many of the threats against merchant vessels – said on Wednesday that the strait would remain closed until the US ended its strikes and blockade of Iranian ports.
“Exporting oil and natural gas from the region is either available to everyone or to no one,” the IRGC said, according to a report by Iran’s Press TV.
The latest exchange of attacks between the US and Iran has raised fears of a wider conflict in the Middle East.
The U.S. first imposed the blockade in April and then lifted it last month after signing an interim agreement that suspended the fighting and set a 60-day deadline for negotiations on issues such as Iran’s nuclear program. Those talks stalled as fighting over the Strait of Hormuz intensified.
When the U.S. and Israel went to war with Iran on Feb. 28, Tehran effectively closed the waterway to shipping — a move that sent the price of oil, fertilizer and many other goods high beyond the region’s borders and gave Iran great bargaining leverage. Those rising prices pose a particular challenge for President Donald Trump and his Republican Party, which hopes to retain control of Congress in November but Washington has struggled to reopen the waterway.
(With input from agencies)
