The Strait of Hormuz remains closed, Iran Guards say.
Image: ISNA / AFP
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz 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 in 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."
US officials have previously rejected Iranian assertions that Tehran can control navigation through the strait and have insisted international shipping routes remain open.
Brent North Sea crude oil was trading 1.1% stronger at $85.68 per barrel on Wednesday morning.
US President Donald Trump said in an interview broadcast on Tuesday he would expand US strikes on Iran next week to target power plants and bridges if Tehran does not make a deal.
"Next week it gets really bad for them because next week comes the power plants. Next week comes the bridges," Trump said in an interview with the US broadcaster Fox News.
"We're going to knock out all their power plants. We're going to knock out all their bridges unless they get to the table and negotiate."
The United States launched strikes against Iran for the fourth day in a row, with the US military saying the latest round was aimed at "degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz."
A renewed US blockade on Iranian ports came into effect on Tuesday evening, preventing vessels from transiting to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas.
"There are currently more than 20 US Navy warships and hundreds of military aircraft operating across the Middle East," US Central Command said in a statement. "American forces remain vigilant, lethal, and ready."
AFP