As Iran keeps the Strait of Hormuz closed, it also threatens to target another important Mideast shipping lane.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has declared the Strait of Hormuz – a waterway through which about 20% of the world’s crude oil supply flows until war – closed to any ships not explicitly sanctioned by Tehran, warning of a tough response to any violators.

Global crude oil prices jumped above $110 a barrel on news on Friday. Before the US and Israel launched war on Iran one month ago, Brent crude was trading at just over $70 a barrel.

The IRGC Navy appeared to make an example of three Chinese-owned commercial vessels this week that tried – but failed – to pass through the Strait and exit the Persian Gulf.

“This morning, following the false statements of the corrupt US president that the Strait of Hormuz is open, three container ships of different nations moved to the authorized shipping lane, but were turned back after warnings from the IRGC Navy,” the Iranian military said in a social media post.

Early on Friday morning, data from the MarineTraffic website showed that two large ships owned by China’s largest shipping company, COSCO, made a sharp U-turn after trying to pass through the Iranian island of Larak. Two ships, CSCL Indian Ocean and CSCL Arctic Ocean, docked in the Persian Gulf later on Friday.

A third ship, the Hong Kong-owned Lotus Rising, was forced to make a similar change from the same island the previous day.

In its statement, the IRGC said, “the passage of any vessel ‘to or from’ belonging to the allies and supporters of the Zionist-American enemies, to any place and any tunnel, is prohibited.”

Larak Island has been described as Tehran’s “extortion center” by analysts at maritime intelligence firm Lloyd’s List. It is just a few kilometers from Iran’s coast, and Tehran has been forcing ships to pay a fee for safe passage – as much as $2 million per ship, according to Iranian state media.

Lloyd’s List claims to have tracked 33 hikers through Larak Island in the second half of March, but there are absolutely no walkers on the more common route south through the challenge. Put another way, while the Strait of Hormuz is defined as a choke point for oil from the Persian Gulf, the route through Larak has become a particular choke point for Iran along the way.

Adding to the pressure, an Iranian military official was recently quoted by the Islamic Republic’s media as saying that another major problem in the world’s oil supply could be targeted. Bab el-Mandeb Strait is the southern gateway from the Red Sea into the Arabian Sea and all points beyond. About 10% of the world’s oil flows through the corridor, which is bordered by Djibouti to the south and Yemen to the north.

Yemen is home to the Houthi rebel group, which is one of Iran’s most powerful militias. While the Houthis have stayed out of the war in Iran so far, their leaders have warned that they could get involved if Tehran asks them to.

The Houthis control much of Yemen, acting as a shadow government, and the Humanitarian Operations Coordination Center (HOCC), which oversees patrols in the Red Sea, told Lloyds on Thursday that there was “no reason to worry” about the road.

“As you can see, a large number of ships, including oil tankers, pass through the Bab el Mandeb strait every day. In this context, the Republic of Yemen remains committed to the security of navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab el Mandeb strait, as well as ensuring the free flow of trade,” the HOCC told Lloyds.

But the Houthis they have attacked ships in the storm beforerecently, in retaliation for Israel’s war in Gaza, and Iran coming under strong pressure from the US and Israel, the threat is emerging again.

If both chokepoints in the Mideast seas were compromised, it would greatly increase the constraints on oil and natural gas from the region.

Analysts at Australian investment bank and financial services firm Macquarie are now warning of a 40% chance that oil could hit $200 a barrel in June, which has never happened.

Iran’s parliament is drafting a bill to make tolls on ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz “legal,” according to state-run media, the plan will apparently be finalized in the first week of April.

The United Arab Emirates, which is the Gulf region that is the main target of Iran, until now, since the war began, is pushing a number of countries to join it in creating the “Hormuz Security Force” to reopen and protect this road, according to the Financial Times.

The head of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company of the UAE, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, was in Washington this week for a meeting with Vice President JD Vance. He said Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz amounted to “economic terrorism.”

“When Iran seizes Hormuz, all nations pay a ransom. In the gas pump, in the grocery store, in the pharmacy, in every home,” he said in a speech the day before his meeting with Vance. “No country can be allowed to destroy the world economy in this way. Not now, not ever.”