US strikes Iran’s Revolutionary Guard again as Tehran threatens to block Gulf oil exports

New US airstrikes on targets linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have pushed the Strait of Hormuz back to the center of an escalating confrontation between Washington and Tehran.

US Central Command said the attacks began at noon Eastern time on Tuesday and targeted IRGC facilities in Iran. The command said the strikes responded to recent attempted attacks by the Revolutionary Guard on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and on US troops in the region.

Iran’s state broadcaster reported explosions on Qeshm Island, on the northern side of the strait. The semiofficial Nour News agency also reported explosions in the port city of Bandar Abbas and in Chabahar on the country’s southern coast.

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limited and contained

The latest strikes have revived fears that a confrontation fought mainly through economic pressure could widen into a broader military conflict. US forces attacked Iran’s Larak Island on Sunday, after which Iran fired missiles at two US air bases in Jordan. President Donald Trump threatened a forceful response on Monday, but said the recent fighting did not necessarily mean a return to full-scale war. A senior Iranian official described the confrontation to Reuters as “limited and contained.”

Tehran has nevertheless adopted a hard line. Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned that Iran would stop oil exports from the Persian Gulf if Iran itself was prevented from exporting. “If the enemy wants us not to export oil from the Persian Gulf, no one will be able to export oil,” Iranian media quoted him as saying. He also warned that Iran would respond militarily if Washington increased pressure. Shipping data and security firms have said two supertankers were recently hit, sending oil prices higher.

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If the enemy wants us not to export oil from the Persian Gulf, no one will be able to export oil