Iran on Wednesday threatened to stop all oil and gas exports from the Middle East after the United States reinstated its naval blockade and intensified airstrikes against the country, further escalating tensions that have pushed the region closer to a wider conflict.
The latest exchange of attacks follows the collapse of an interim agreement aimed at ending hostilities between Washington and Tehran, with renewed fighting centred on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy shipping route.
According to Iranian officials, US airstrikes targeted several military sites, including a barracks belonging to Iran's 388th Mechanized Infantry Brigade in Sistan and Baluchestan province. At least seven Iranian troops were killed and more than 260 people were wounded in overnight strikes, while government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said more than 30 people had been killed in recent days.
Iran's state television reported that at least 13 missiles struck the military base, killing both conscripts and professional soldiers. Iranian authorities said the army would respond decisively to what it described as American aggression.
The US military's Central Command said it carried out strikes on dozens of targets during a seven-hour overnight operation and resumed attacks during daylight hours, signalling an increase in the pace of military operations.
The renewed hostilities come after Washington restored the naval blockade it had first imposed in April before lifting it last month following an interim deal that suspended fighting for 60 days to allow negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme and other issues. Those talks have since stalled as tensions over the Strait of Hormuz intensified.
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that if the blockade continues, no country in the region would be allowed to export oil or gas.
"The export of oil and gas from the region will be either for everyone or for no one," the IRGC said in a statement.
The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the dispute, with about one-fifth of the world's oil and natural gas trade passing through the waterway during normal times. Iran had effectively disrupted shipping through the strait during the early stages of the conflict, causing global energy prices to surge.
Although some commercial vessels resumed using an alternative route near Oman under US military protection during the ceasefire, Iran recently targeted ships using that corridor, triggering another round of military exchanges.
Iran also launched missile and drone attacks on Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan on Wednesday, according to regional authorities. Missile warning sirens sounded in Bahrain and Kuwait, while Jordan said it intercepted three incoming Iranian missiles. Tehran claimed responsibility for the attacks, targeting countries that host US military forces.
US Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper said Iran had launched dozens of missiles and drones toward Gulf Arab states in recent days.
US President Donald Trump warned that American military operations would continue unless negotiations resumed.
"You better make a deal, or you're not going to have anything left," Trump said, indicating that bridges, power plants and other infrastructure could become future targets.
Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, accused Washington of escalating the conflict, saying in a letter to the UN that "the US is the aggressor, not the victim."
The renewed fighting has also affected global energy markets. Brent crude traded above $85 per barrel on Wednesday, more than 15 percent higher than before the conflict began, although still below the peak levels reached earlier during the war.
Trump had earlier proposed imposing a 20 percent fee on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz but later abandoned the plan, saying Gulf allies instead pledged major investment in the United States.
Regional mediators continue efforts to bring the United States and Iran back to the negotiating table, though prospects for renewed diplomacy remain uncertain amid the ongoing military escalation.
