Iran threatens to block exports, imports in Gulf if US blockade continues

Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters threatened Wednesday to block exports and imports through the Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Red Sea in response to the US naval blockade on Iranian ports.

If the “aggressive and terrorist US” continues “illegal maritime blockade actions and creates insecurity for Iranian commercial vessels and oil tankers,” such moves would be seen as “a prelude to violating the ceasefire,” Major General Ali Abdollahi, the commander of the Central Headquarters, said in a statement carried by Fars News Agency.

He warned that if the blockade persists, Iran’s armed forces “will not allow any exports or imports to continue” in strategic waterways, including the Gulf, Sea of Oman, and the Red Sea.

The US has imposed a naval blockade around Iranian ports following their rare direct talks in Pakistan, which ended without an agreement this weekend.

More than 3,300 people have been killed in US-Israeli airstrikes in Iran since Feb. 28, according to Iranian authorities.

Tehran retaliated with missile and drone strikes targeting Israel, Iraq, Jordan, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets before a two-week ceasefire was announced last week.