Iran threatens to disrupt shipping in Red Sea unless US lifts Hormuz blockade

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard announced Wednesday that Tehran would not allow the import or export of goods through the Persian Gulf, the nearby Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea unless the United States lifts the blockade it imposed earlier this week around the Strait of Hormuz.Ali Abdollahi, commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya emergency headquarters, said the measures would be “firm and decisive” steps to protect Iran’s national interests and sovereignty.

Iran does not border the Red Sea, and the threat to disrupt shipping there appeared to signal that Tehran could seek to reactivate Yemen’s Houthi rebels, its regional allies, to attack maritime traffic. Since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the war that followed, the Houthis have attacked merchant ships and oil tankers they said were linked to Israel. The campaign sharply raised insurance costs and forced some shipping companies to reroute vessels along longer, more expensive paths, driving up the cost of goods. A return to that pattern could further jolt global commodity markets.