IRGC warns of broader Gulf export shutdown if US closes Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON, United States — Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that if the United States closes the Strait of Hormuz, other oil and gas export routes serving Washington and its allies could also be shut down. The IRGC said regional oil and gas exports would either be open to everyone or to no one, accusing the US of deploying what it called pirates in the Indian Ocean to seal maritime routes through the strait and cut the world off from Gulf energy supplies. The statement followed what the IRGC described as the re-imposition of a US naval blockade around the Strait of Hormuz by US Central Command, which it said was continuing military operations in the area. The IRGC reiterated that the strait would remain closed until US strikes end, and said retaliatory operations against US bases were continuing. The IRGC also claimed its forces struck US Army facilities at the Azraq base in Jordan with drones for a second time, destroyed a US military center at Abdullah Port in Kuwait, and targeted US Fifth Fleet facilities in Bahrain. US Central Command said a separate wave of precision-munitions strikes against Iran lasted seven hours and was aimed at further degrading Iranian missile, drone and maritime capabilities. No further details were immediately available.