US forces struck Iran and reimposed a naval blockade on its ports as Tehran hit Washington's Gulf allies on Wednesday, vowing the Strait of Hormuz would stay closed "until the US ends its aggression".
The strikes came hours after US President Donald Trump backed down on his planned 20 percent levy on ships using the strait, which is at the centre of a flare-up in a war that has rattled the Middle East and pushed up global energy prices.
Tehran insists it controls the key oil shipping corridor, which was open to free navigation before the US-Israeli attacks in late February sparked the conflict.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said the renewed US blockade had cut off oil and gas exports to the world, including "America's economic rivals", and warned that routes serving US and allied interests could also be shut.
"Oil and gas exports from the region will either be available for everyone or for no one," the Guards said, without elaborating.
