Iran has threatened to block further trading routes in the region, as the US launched a new strikes on military targets.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said the Strait of Hormuz would remain shut until the US ended its “acts of aggression”. It also threatened to close off other regional oil and gas export channels.
It came as the US military’s Central Command (Centcom) said it had struck Iran on Wednesday morning, following another operation overnight. It also said its forces had redirected two vessels attempting to pass its newly-reinstated blockade of Iranian ports.
Ongoing US-Iran hostilities have underscored the strategic importance of the Strait to the global economy.
The renewed attacks have also triggered a sharp rise in oil prices, as tanker traffic through the vital shipping route has virtually stalled.
Wednesday morning’s strikes “further degraded Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz”, Centcom said in a statement.
A 90-minute wave was used to target Iran’s coastal defences and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island, the Centcom officials added.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump vowed to strike Iran’s bridges and power plants next week if the country did not return to talks.
“I’ll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we’ll hit energy targets,” Trump said in an interview on Special Report with Bret Baier that aired on Tuesday night.
