Iran's top security official warned Gulf states on August 22 that supporting US sanctions against Tehran would be treated as an act of war, reviving threats to close the Strait of Hormuz. The waterway carries roughly 25% of the world's seaborne crude, and Iran's own oil exports have already been crushed by blockades tied to those sanctions.
Mohsen Rezaee, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told neighboring Gulf states on August 22 that backing the US economic pressure campaign against Tehran would be treated as an act of war. He paired the warning with a threat to shut the Strait of Hormuz so that, according to Crypto Briefing: "not a single drop of oil" leaves the Persian Gulf.
A chokepoint with global consequences
The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that handles roughly 25% of the world's seaborne crude oil trade, a key artery for crude oil shipments. Iran has made variations of this threat before, and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf has previously voiced similar warnings about retaliating against Middle Eastern energy exports in response to American sanctions.
The current environment makes the rhetoric more dangerous, however, since the US and Israel launched military strikes against Iran in late February 2026, touching off a chain of escalations that has destabilized the region. Iran responded by aggressively asserting control over shipping lanes in the strait, turning a theoretical threat into something closer to operational reality.
Iran's oil exports in freefall
Before the conflict escalated earlier this year, Iran was exporting an average of 1.3 to 1.5 million barrels of oil per day. That figure has since cratered to below 300,000 barrels per day at its lowest points, crushed by enforced blockades and operational disruptions tied to US sanctions.
Why Gulf states are caught in the middle
Saudi Arabia and the UAE depend on uninterrupted oil exports flowing through the very waterway Iran is threatening to shut down, and Saudi Arabia alone relies on the strait for the vast majority of its seaborne oil exports. A sustained blockade would hammer global supply chains and send energy prices into a spiral that would hurt producers and consumers alike.
China, one of the world's largest oil importers and historically a significant buyer of Iranian crude, would also feel the impact. The insurance and shipping industries are already on edge, with elevated risk premiums for vessels transiting the strait climbing alongside the broader uncertainty.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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