Iranian warning: Continued naval blockade threatens to close strategic straits and waterways

The secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, said that the continuation of the naval blockade and US escalation will have wide-ranging repercussions, warning of the possibility of tightening restrictions on navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and closing other strategic waterways. In a post on his social media account on Friday evening, Zolqadr said that "the continuation of the naval blockade and the US administration's stoking of the flames of war will lead to a complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz, as well as other strategic straits and waterways." He added that the consequences of this step "will be borne by the global economy, the energy market, and American voters," warning of the impact of the escalation on trade and energy supplies. The US forces had announced on July 14 the re-imposition of the naval blockade on Iran, at the direction of US President Donald Trump. Earlier on Friday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced targeting and stopping two ships as they attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz via what it described as an "illegal and unsafe route," noting that four oil tankers had urgently changed course and turned back. This warning comes in the context of mutual escalation between Iran and the United States over navigation in the Gulf.