Iran threatened all ports in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman as the U.S. military counted down to a blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas Monday.
The move came as President Donald Trump turned up pressure on Tehran in a step that could drive oil prices higher and reignite the war.
"Security in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is either for everyone or for NO ONE," the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported Monday. "NO PORT in the region will be safe," according to a statement from the Iranian military and the Revolutionary Guards.
U.S. Central Command had announced that from 10 a.m. EDT, or 6:30 p.m. in Iran, the blockade would be enforced "against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas."
It said that it would include all of Iran's ports on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. CENTCOM said it would still allow ships traveling between non-Iranian ports to transit the Strait of Hormuz, a step down from Trump's earlier threat to blockade the vital waterway, where 20% of global oil transited before fighting began.
