The Iranian Army has warned this Wednesday that it is willing to close navigation in the Red Sea, in addition to maintaining its current restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz, in case the United States persists in the blockade decreed on Monday over this last strategic passage, after the failure of the peace talks between Washington and Tehran held on Saturday in Islamabad, capital of Pakistan.
"If the aggressor and terrorist United States wants to maintain its illegal action of a naval blockade in the region and generate insecurity for Iranian commercial and oil tankers, this would be a prelude to the violation of the ceasefire," he highlighted through a statement.
In this context, the head of the Central Manco of the Army of Iran, Ali Abdolahi, has stressed that, as retaliation, "the powerful Iranian Armed Forces will not allow any export or import through the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Red Sea," according to what the Iranian public broadcaster IRIB has reported. "Iran will act forcefully to defend its sovereignty and national interests," he concluded.
Abdolahi has not detailed the procedure that Tehran would follow to materialize an eventual closure of the Red Sea. However, on previous occasions, the Houthis —allies of Iran and dominant in various areas of Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa— have restricted maritime transit through military operations, in response to Israel's offensive on the Gaza Strip after the attacks of October 7, 2023.
Hours before these warnings, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) had claimed to have blocked Iranian ports and "completely paralyzed" the economic trade that "enters and leaves" the country by sea, after the American president, Donald Trump, announced the imposition of a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.
The conversations between Iran and the United States, which concluded without progress, took place a few days after both parties agreed on April 8 to a 15-day ceasefire, with the aim of reaching an understanding that would end the aforementioned offensive. This is part of the negotiation process between Tehran and Washington to try to bring about a new nuclear pact, after the unilateral withdrawal in 2018 by the United States from the agreement signed three years earlier.