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Iran’s IRGC threatens to close more export corridors tied to US allies
The warning follows Iran’s Strait of Hormuz shutdown and the US naval blockade, with analysts saying Iran could pressure the Red Sea via Houthi-controlled Bab el-Mandeb.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to close additional export corridors that benefit the United States and its allies, according to Iranian media cited by SCMP Economy, after Tehran shut the Strait of Hormuz and the US reimposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
SCMP Economy reports the IRGC statement, carried by Iran’s IRNA state news agency, said regional energy exports are “either shared by all, or denied to all.” Analysts cited in the coverage said Iran has been signaling it may use its Houthi allies in Yemen to target the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea.
The narrow Bab el-Mandeb link connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, a route that includes Saudi oil exports and a substantial share of global shipping. SCMP Economy also notes a senior Houthi official warned the group was prepared to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a move he said could send oil prices to US$200 a barrel if Saudi Arabia continued attacks in Yemen.
The escalation comes as Houthi forces fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control, breaking a four-year truce, according to SCMP Economy. Analysts said the potential shift would open a new front against Washington and put key energy shipping routes at risk.