Tehran, Iran. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to close other export corridors benefiting the United States and its allies after Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz and the United States reimposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
The warning raised concerns over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key route linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
IRGC statement
“Regional energy exports are either shared by all, or denied to all,” the IRGC said in a statement carried by Iran’s IRNA state news agency on Wednesday.
Iranian media reported that the force threatened to close “all other export corridors that benefit the U.S. and its allies.”
Bab el-Mandeb concerns
Analysts said Iran had signalled it could use its Houthi allies in Yemen to shut the Bab el-Mandeb gateway, opening another front against Washington and putting two major energy arteries at risk.
The narrow passage links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and carries Saudi oil exports as well as a substantial share of global shipping.
A senior Houthi official said on Monday that the group was prepared to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if Saudi Arabia continued attacking Yemen, according to Iran’s Press TV. The official said such a move could send oil prices to $200 a barrel.
Renewed Saudi-Houthi conflict
Houthi forces fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under Houthi control on Monday, ending a four-year truce between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned group.
After the Gaza war began in October 2023, the Iran-backed Houthis attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea, saying they were targeting vessels linked to Israel in support of Palestinians.
US military strikes
The latest threat came a day after the US military said it had begun a new round of strikes to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
The United States said Iran had attacked seven commercial ships during the previous week, leaving nearly a dozen crew members dead, missing or injured.
US Central Command said late on Tuesday that it struck dozens of military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and in Iranian coastal areas. The strikes lasted seven hours, it said.