Middle East crisis live: Iran warns of ‘devastating’ retaliation after Trump’s expletive-laden threats over strait of Hormuz

Iran Hormuz retaliation: Tehran threatens US after Trump vows to ‘blow them out of water’

Muhammad Asghar | GlobalBeat

Tehran warned Washington of “devastating retaliation” after President Donald Trump threatened to “blow them out of the water” over access to the strategic strait.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said any US naval aggression near the Hormuz chokepoint would trigger a response that “will make the enemy regret its existence.”

The exchange deepened the crisis sparked by Tehran’s announcement that it could block shipping through the 21-mile-wide waterway that carries 20 percent of global oil trade. Oil prices jumped 6 percent after Trump told reporters that vessels face “very serious consequences” if Iran interferes with their passage.

Revolutionary Guard navy commander Alireza Tangsiri delivered the warning through Iran’s Tasnim news agency hours after Trump’s remarks. “If they make such a mistake, they will see how devastating our retaliation will be,” Tangsiri stated.

The US maintains a carrier group near the strait and has reinforced its presence since December. The Pentagon confirmed it placed additional destroyers on patrol without specifying numbers. Crude futures in London reached $83 per barrel, the highest since October 2025.

Regional governments expressed alarm at the rhetoric. Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry called for “de-escalation and safeguarding energy security” while UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed urged “maximum restraint from all parties.” China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told Beijing “opposes any actions that threaten freedom of navigation.”

The White House doubled down Friday evening. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Trump “means what he says about protecting American interests and our allies’ commerce.” She declined to rule out preemptive action against Iranian naval assets.

Commercial shippers adopted extra precautions. Kuwait’s KOTC oil tanker operator confirmed it rerouted two supertankers around the Cape of Good Hope, adding 12 days to Asia-Europe voyages. Japan’s largest shipping line Mitsui OSK shares fell 7 percent on the Tokyo exchange.

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian convened an emergency national security council session late Friday, state media reported. Lawmaker Javad Karimi-Ghodousi said parliament would review “all options including acceleration of our nuclear program” if Western pressure increases. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed inspectors left Tehran after being denied access to enrichment sites.

Background

The Hormuz strait separates Oman and Iran, forming the sole sea passage from the energy-rich Persian Gulf to the open ocean. Tankers carry about 17 million barrels of crude and condensate daily through the channel, according to US Energy Information Administration figures. Any prolonged disruption would force Asian refiners to hunt for replacement barrels at premium prices.

Washington and Tehran have clashed repeatedly over shipping rights since the 1980s “Tanker War” phase of the Iran-Iraq conflict. In 2019, sabotage attacks and seizures briefly spiked insurance costs for Gulf voyages, prompting the US and UK to launch naval patrols dubbed Operation Sentinel. Iran denies involvement in those incidents but has made periodic threats to choke traffic if its economy faces a full oil embargo.

What’s Next

Major shipping associations expect insurers to hike war-risk premiums for Gulf voyages when markets reopen Monday. Diplomats said UN Secretary-General António Guterres will dispatch special envoys to Tehran and Washington to urge calm before a scheduled Security Council session on Tuesday. US officials told Reuters they received no formal Iranian response to Trump’s threat but retain “multiple defensive and offensive options.”

Further price spikes would test industrial countries’ strategic reserves. China and India, Iran’s largest oil customers before sanctions tightened last year, begin quadrennial economic planning sessions next month and may lobby for calmer energy markets to curb inflation.