Iran declares regional oil export ban amid US strikes

The Iranian military has vowed to prevent crude products from being transported out of the Persian Gulf, citing the resumed airstrikes by American forces.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Tuesday warned that the attacks would only delay the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route.

“Not a single drop of oil or gas will be exported from this region as long as America’s malicious actions continue,” the IRGC declared in a statement.

Iran’s Deputy FM Kazem Gharibabadi accused the United States of violating all of its commitments contained in the signed Memorandum of Understanding.

Gharibabadi said with the termination of the lifting of Iran’s naval blockade, the U.S. has “cast aside and completely dismantled” the Islamabad-brokered MoU.

Speaking at the White House on Tuesday, alongside the visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, President Donald Trump told reporters that the Middle East “is coming together.”

Trump described Iran as a regional aggressor, which long intimidated its neighbors. “There was fear all over the Middle East,” he said. “We’re getting rid of the bully of the Middle East.”

Iran, meanwhile, is continuing its retaliatory attacks on Gulf states. Several locations in Bahrain were hit Tuesday night as multiple air defense missiles reportedly malfunctioned.

However, the Houthis have struck back after Saudi-backed forces targeted Sanaa airport’s runway to stop an Iranian plane carrying a Houthi delegation from landing.

The militant group retaliated with ballistic missiles and drones directed at Abha International Airport, and warned airlines to avoid Saudi Arabia’s airspace.

The Houthis also claimed they shot down a Saudi-owned Chinese-built Wing Loong II unmanned aerial vehicle during a hostile mission over the central Al-Bayda Governorate.