According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, the IRGC said in a statement that the region’s energy exports would be “either for everyone or for no one”.

Analysts told Reuters that Iran was signalling it could rely on its Houthi allies in Yemen to close the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the strategic waterway leading to the Red Sea. Such a move could open a new front against Washington and threaten two of the world’s most important energy shipping routes.

The Bab al-Mandab Strait links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and is a key route for Saudi oil exports and a significant share of global maritime trade.