Iran Ignites the Fuse of Confrontation: Threats to Shut Global Oil Arteries After Understanding With Washington Collapses

Iran announced the suspension of its commitment to the memorandum of understanding signed with the United States, asserting that Washington’s reimposition of a naval blockade on Iranian ports constituted, in its words, a blow to the agreement reached through Pakistani mediation.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said President Donald Trump’s decision to resume the blockade had “undermined” the memorandum, noting that Tehran no longer considers itself bound at this stage by any of its provisions, including arrangements related to the Strait of Hormuz and the 60-day negotiation period.

Gharibabadi stressed that the Strait of Hormuz represents “an essential part of Iran’s national security,” emphasizing that his country would deal with it on the basis of what he described as its “sovereignty” over it, regardless of the consequences.

He added that talks with the Sultanate of Oman had failed to produce any understanding on a mechanism for managing navigation in the strait, arguing that calls for Iran to return to its previous commitments had lost their justification after the latest US measures.

The Iranian official accused Washington of “dismantling” the memorandum of understanding by reimposing the blockade and resuming military operations, warning of a response that, he said, should make the United States “regret” its actions, rather than merely face a reciprocal reply.

At the same time, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard raised the level of escalation, threatening to widen the confrontation to include other routes for exporting oil and gas in the region if Iranian exports continue to be blocked.

In a statement, the Revolutionary Guard said the energy equation would be “either for الجميع or for no one,” warning that the closure of Iran’s oil export route would be met with threats to other routes serving the interests of the United States and its allies.

The statement indicated that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed, according to the Iranian position, until what it described as “US acts of aggression” cease, affirming that countermeasures would continue as long as the blockade remains in place.

Although Tehran did not specify which routes it might target, the Iranian threats expanded the scope of the crisis from the Strait of Hormuz to the global network of energy routes, amid rising tensions between Washington and Tehran over freedom of navigation and control of one of the world’s most important maritime corridors for the oil and gas trade.