Iran has threatened to block additional trading routes in the region after the United States launched a new series of strikes on Iranian military targets. The country's Revolutionary Guards declared that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the US ceased its "acts of aggression" and also warned of potential closures of other regional oil and gas export channels.

The US military's Central Command (Centcom) reported conducting drone, air, and naval strikes on Iran on Wednesday morning, following a seven-hour operation overnight. These strikes targeted Iran's coastal defenses and cruise missile storage and launch sites on Greater Tunb Island during a 90-minute wave.

Centcom stated that the recent strikes "further degraded Iran's ability to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz," highlighting the strategic importance of the Strait to the global economy amid rising hostilities.

US President Donald Trump, in an interview on Special Report with Bret Baier aired Tuesday night, said, "I'll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we'll hit energy targets." This escalation in rhetoric followed Trump's announcement that a previously threatened 20% toll on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would be replaced by "massive" trade and investment deals with Gulf states.

A prior threat by Trump in April to bomb Iran's civilian infrastructure drew condemnation from UN human rights chief Volker Türk, who stated, "Under international law, deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime."

Sources