Iran threatens to block more trade routes as US launches fresh strikes

Iran has threatened to block further trading routes in the region, as the US launched a fresh wave of strikes on military targets.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said the Strait of Hormuz would remain shut until the US ended its “acts of aggression”. They also threatened to close off other regional oil and gas export channels.

The warning came as the US military’s Central Command (Centcom) said it had carried out drone, air and navy strikes on Iran on Wednesday morning, following another seven-hour operation overnight.

Fresh hostilities between the US and Iran in recent days have served to underscore 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.

The escalation in rhetoric came after Trump said a 20% toll he had threatened to impose in the Strait of Hormuz would be replaced by “massive” trade and investment deals with Gulf states.

A previous threat by Trump to bomb Iran’s civilian infrastructure, which was made in April, drew condemnation at the time from UN human rights chief Volker Türk, who said: “Under international law, deliberately attacking civilians and civilian infrastructure is a war crime.”