Iran Warns U.S. Blockade Could Disrupt Hormuz Shipping and Energy Trade
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Iran’s warning that continued U.S. maritime pressure could further disrupt the Strait of Hormuz has become more consequential as the strategic waterway faces an extended shipping crisis. On Aug. 1, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned that continued U.S. maritime blockade measures could lead to the closure of the Strait and other regional waterways. The warning came after the United States resumed a naval blockade targeting maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports on July 14. (Anadolu Agency) The situation has since moved beyond a hypothetical risk. The International Energy Agency said in its August oil-market report that the Strait had been effectively closed again in early July and that Gulf oil exports fell sharply as shipping and energy infrastructure came under attack. By Aug. 19, Reuters reported that only a small number of commodity vessels were crossing the waterway as many shipowners avoided it because of continuing...