Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday the Hormuz strait would remain closed until the United States ends its "acts of aggression" while warning that other regional oil export routes could also become targets.
Fighting between the United States and Iran, which began late February, has hampered energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for oil and gas shipments from the Gulf.
The Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said they carried out attacks on US military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait following American strikes on Iranian territory, according to statements by Iranian state television IRIB.
"The enemy should know that now that its maritime raiders have blocked the Indian Ocean route for oil and gas exports to the world -- thereby endangering the interests of America's economic rivals -- it should also expect the closure of other oil and gas export routes that serve the interests of the United States and its allies," the statement said.
They did not elaborate on which routes could be affected.
"Oil and gas exports from the region will either be available for everyone or for no one," they added.
In a separate statement, the Guards said, "The retaliatory operations of the fighters will continue, and the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed until the United States ends its acts of aggression."
This comes after the US military on early Wednesday reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports over Tehran’s attacks on ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, sparking new strikes on nations hosting American forces as an interim deal to end the war further unraveled.
The US first imposed the blockade in mid-April and then lifted it in mid-June, a day after signing the interim deal that set a 60-day period for negotiations over issues like Iran’s nuclear program, but talks have stalled as fighting over the strait has intensified.
US launches another round of airstrikes
The United States launched another round of airstrikes after reimposing the blockade, hitting dozens of targets during a seven-hour operation, according to the US military's Central Command on Wednesday.
Early Wednesday, missile alert warnings were issued in Bahrain and Kuwait as both countries faced incoming Iranian missile fire. The repeated attacks, which have become a daily occurrence, have further undermined the already fragile ceasefire.
In a statement, US Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of Central Command, said Iran had fired dozens of missiles and drones at neighboring Gulf Arab nations.
“US forces are holding Iran accountable for unwarranted aggression that continues to endanger innocent lives,” Cooper said.
The US has at least 19 warships deployed in the Arabian Sea, including two aircraft carriers and an amphibious assault ship carrying more than 1,000 Marines. Central Command also said in a social media post that "hundreds of military aircraft" are operating across the Middle East.
When the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran on February 28, Tehran effectively closed the passage by attacking and threatening commercial vessels. The disruption drove up global prices for oil, fertilizer and other goods.
In recent weeks, Iran has also targeted ships transiting a route near Oman that is overseen by the US military and lies outside Tehran's control, contributing to the latest escalation. Washington has threatened to reopen the strait by force, though experts say such an operation would require a significantly larger naval presence, if not tens of thousands of ground troops.
Iran's ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, condemned the continued US strikes against his country.
“The US is the aggressor, not the victim,” he wrote to the world body's leader, according to the state-run IRNA news agency.
Iran says attacked US targets in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain
Iranian state television reported Wednesday that Iran's army and the Revolutionary Guards carried out separate attacks on US targets in Jordan and Kuwait after US forces struck the Islamic republic.
The army said it targeted the Al-Azraq base in Jordan with drones, state TV IRIB reported. Separately, the Guards said they fired cruise missiles at a US military logistics centre at Mina Abdullah in Kuwait, stressing that the Hormuz strait would remain closed "until the United States ends its acts of aggression".
Iran's Revolutionary Guards also struck facilities used by the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.
"The NSI Management Center, Command and Control Center, Major Military Parts and Equipment Warehouses, and Fuel Storage Facilities of the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain Were Crushed," the Guards said in a statement carried by state television IRIB.
(With inputs from AP, AFP)