Brigadier General Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned on Monday that the Strait of Hormuz would remain unsafe for oil and gas shipments as long as what he called "American aggression" continues in the region, adding that the US military should prepare for a "punitive operation" in response.
In a post on X, Zolfaghari said, "The Strait of Hormuz will not be safe for the passage of oil and gas as long as 'American aggression' continues in the region."
The Strait of Hormuz will not be safe for the passage of oil and gas as long as “American aggression” continues in the region.
— العميد إبراهيم ذو الفقاري (@Ibrahim_alFiqar) July 20, 2026
In a separate post an hour later, he said, "The US military must prepare for a punitive operation in response to the 'illegal violation' in the Strait of Hormuz."
The US military must prepare for a punitive operation in response to the "illegal violation" in the Strait of Hormuz.
— العميد إبراهيم ذو الفقاري (@Ibrahim_alFiqar) July 20, 2026
Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters is Iran's operational joint command, tasked with coordinating operations between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the regular armed forces.
Zolfaghari, who has emerged as one of the most visible faces of Iran's military messaging through the ongoing war, did not specify what form the "punitive operation" he referred to might take.
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The warning comes amid renewed alarm over the safety of the strait, one of the world's most critical oil chokepoints, through which roughly a fifth of global seaborne crude passes.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre had earlier flagged a vessel fire near Kumzar, Oman, while Iran's Revolutionary Guard has said two oil tankers detonated after entering an Iranian minefield in the strait in recent days.
The Strait of Hormuz has emerged as a key flashpoint in the war between the US and Iran that began in late February, with Tehran repeatedly threatening to restrict passage through the waterway and reportedly laying mines along shipping lanes, while Washington has struck Iranian mine-laying vessels and coastal military sites in an effort to keep the route open.
The exchange of threats comes as the US continues nightly strikes on Iranian targets, with CENTCOM saying the campaign is aimed at degrading Tehran's ability to threaten commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the strait.
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