Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned on Monday that “no port in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman will be safe” if its own ports are threatened, Iranian state media reported hours before a proposed US blockade was set to begin.
The warning, carried by the semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA), came after the US Central Command announced it would enforce a blockade on all maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports from 10 a.m. ET (7:30 p.m. Sri Lanka time) on Monday. The decision followed the collapse of 21 hours of direct US-Iran talks in Islamabad over the weekend.
“Security of ports in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman is either for everyone or for no one,” the IRGC spokesperson said. The spokesperson described the US move as “illegal” and an example of “maritime piracy.”
The IRGC reiterated that “vessels affiliated with the enemy have no right to pass through the Strait of Hormuz,” a position Tehran has maintained since the war with the United States and Israel began.
The threat significantly broadens the scope of potential disruption beyond the Strait of Hormuz itself. If carried out, it could affect ports across the entire Persian Gulf, including those in the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Oman — critical transit points for global oil supplies that have already pushed prices past $100.
For Sri Lanka, which depends on Gulf shipping lanes for fuel imports, the IRGC’s expanded threat deepens concerns about the energy supply outlook. The government has secured fuel shipments through April and May but prolonged regional instability could disrupt those arrangements.
The US blockade of Iranian ports became active on Monday after weekend talks in Islamabad failed to produce an agreement, with nuclear commitments emerging as the key sticking point.
