Tehran: Strait of Hormuz has become the latest flashpoint in the escalating confrontation between Iran and the United States after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) threatened to close additional export corridors that serve the US and its allies.

In a statement carried by Iran’s state news agency IRNA, the IRGC said the renewed US naval blockade of Iranian ports had disrupted global oil and gas exports, including supplies destined for America’s economic rivals. It warned that Iran could also target other regional export routes.

“Regional energy exports are either shared by all or denied to all,” the IRGC said. It also declared that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until what it described as “the end of America’s evils.”

The Strait of Hormuz normally carries about one-fifth of the world’s daily oil and gas shipments. The latest developments have heightened concerns over global energy supplies and international shipping.

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Analysts say Iran has also signalled it could encourage Yemen’s Houthi movement to disrupt traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic waterway linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. The route handles Saudi oil exports and a significant share of global maritime trade.

The Houthis previously attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea after the Gaza war began in October 2023, saying they targeted ships linked to Israel.

The latest warning followed a fresh wave of US military operations. The US military said it struck dozens of Iranian military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and along Iran’s southern coastline in an operation that lasted seven hours. Washington said the strikes aimed to reduce Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.

The United States also accused Iran of attacking seven commercial vessels during the past week, leaving several crew members dead, injured or missing.

Iranian state media reported explosions near Bandar Abbas, Qeshm Island, Bandar Imam Khomeini and Sirik. State broadcaster IRIB also reported that projectiles struck a wheat storage silo in Hoveyzeh. Iranian authorities did not report any casualties.

Following the strikes, Bahrain activated warning sirens, while Kuwait and Jordan said their forces intercepted drones and missiles launched from Iran.

Iranian media claimed Iranian forces targeted a military base in Jordan that hosts US aircraft and struck American military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait. The IRGC also claimed it attacked command, logistics and fuel facilities linked to the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and destroyed a US logistics site in Kuwait’s Mina Abdullah. These claims have not been independently verified.

Kuwait’s state news agency confirmed that emergency crews extinguished a fire at a site hit during the Iranian attacks but did not identify the location.

The latest escalation follows the collapse of a fragile ceasefire reached in June after months of fighting between Iran and the United States. According to an AFP tally based on Iranian official statements and local media reports, renewed US strikes have killed at least 28 people in Iran since last week.

US President Donald Trump warned that Washington would expand its military campaign to target Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran refused to resume negotiations.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said the renewed US naval blockade had effectively undermined the Islamabad memorandum, an interim agreement reached last month to reduce hostilities and restart peace talks.