– Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has threatened to close “all other export corridors that benefit the US and its allies”, Iranian media reported, after Iran shut the Strait of Hormuz and the US reimposed a naval blockade of Iranian ports.

“Regional energy exports are either shared by all, or denied to all,” the IRGC said in ‌a statement carried by Iran’s IRNA state news agency on Wednesday.

Analysts have said Iran has been signalling it may use its Houthi allies in Yemen to shut the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea, opening a new front against Washington and putting two of the world’s most vital energy arteries at risk.

The narrow gateway links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, through which Saudi oil exports and a substantial share of global shipping pass.

A senior Houthi official warned on Monday that the group was prepared to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait – a move he said could send oil prices soaring to $200 a barrel – if Saudi Arabia continued to attack Yemen, according to a report on Iran’s Press TV website.

Houthi forces fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing ⁠the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control on Monday, breaking a four-year truce in the conflict between the kingdom and the Iran-aligned group.

The Houthis have already shown they can choke global commerce through the Bab el-Mandeb. After the Gaza war erupted in October 2023, the Iran-backed group launched attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, saying it was targeting vessels linked to Israel in support of Palestinians.

The latest threat to global shipping comes a day after the US military said it began a fresh round of strikes “to continue degrading Iranian capabilities used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.”

The United States said Iran had attacked seven commercial ships over the last week, leading to nearly a dozen crew members being killed, missing or injured.

The US military said late on Tuesday that it hit dozens of ​military targets near the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian coastal areas. The wave of strikes lasted seven hours, the US Central Command said in a statement.

‘END OF AMERICA’S EVILS’

The IRGC said on Wednesday that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until what it described as “the end of America’s evils”. Before the war began in February, about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments passed through Hormuz each ‌day.

The Guards ⁠said they had targeted what they described as command-and-control, logistics, fuel and military equipment facilities belonging to the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, in response to the latest US strikes in the Strait of Hormuz.

They also said they had set fire to and destroyed what they described as a US logistics facility in Kuwait’s Mina Abdullah and that their air force had struck what they described as a US base at Azraq in Jordan, targeting aircraft hangars. They said some of the US attacks had been launched from bases on Jordanian territory.

Earlier on Wednesday, Kuwait’s state news agency reported that a fire was brought under control at a site targeted in Iranian attacks. It ⁠was not immediately clear whether the fire was at the same site referred to in the IRGC statement.

Jordan’s air defence intercepted and shot down three ballistic missiles that entered the country’s airspace from Iranian territory early on Wednesday.

The hostilities between Iran and the US re-ignited last week, fraying an already fragile truce reached in June after several months of fighting that has killed thousands.

TRUMP THREATENS TO HIT ENERGY TARGETS

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to hit Iranian ⁠power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran resumes negotiations.

“I’ll save the energy targets for last, but ultimately we’ll hit energy targets,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News’ Trey Yingst.

US negotiators had been in touch with their Iranian counterparts to tell them “you better make a deal”, Trump added.

As tensions escalated, Trump on Monday floated the idea of a 20% fee on shipping through the strait, which drew sharp criticism ⁠from the UN shipping agency and others. On Tuesday, he scrapped the idea and said, without providing details, that he would instead seek investment deals with Gulf states.

Oil prices rose on Wednesday, after closing up 2% to a one-month high on Tuesday, as the latest attacks deepened a supply disruption in the Strait of Hormuz.

For the second straight session, Brent closed at its highest since June 12 and West Texas Intermediate at its highest since June 15. Both contracts rose further in early Wednesday trading.

The International Olympic Committee has received a complaint alleging FIFA president Gianni Infantino has repeatedly breached rules on political neutrality in his support of President Donald Trump.

FairSquare, a nonprofit organisation and advocacy group, asked the IOC to investigate, among several instances, Infantino’s possible involvement in the suspension ​of a one-game ban for striker Folarin Balogun, enabling him to play for the United States in a round of ‌16 match on July 6 against Belgium.

Infantino acknowledged receiving a call from Trump, who publicly lobbied for Balogun to play, but the FIFA president said he did not interfere with the decision-making process.

Balogun played as the USMNT was eliminated 4-1 by Belgium. He had received a direct red card in the 64th minute of a July 1 match for a foul on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Tarik Muharemovic. The US went on to win 2-0 with 10 men in the round of 32, and Balogun was suspended for the next game.

A red card or suspension cannot be appealed. ⁠FIFA, however, posted this message without further explanation to its website on July 5 about its use of the rule book in the case: “By operation of Article 27 FDC, the implementation of the automatic match suspension for USA player Folarin Balogun is suspended for a probationary period of one (1) year.”

“All I did was ask for a review because I didn’t think it was a foul,” Trump said on the day of the game against Belgium. “And, you know, again, I’m good at this stuff. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes that crashed into each other and got entangled.

“I think they made a really brilliant decision. I think the referee’s call was horrible and nobody talks about that. They talk about the red card like it’s fine, nobody talks the referee’s decision to red card.”

Infantino said FIFA’s judicial committees act autonomously in a statement on his behalf on FIFA’s website.

“Their independence ‌is essential ⁠to the credibility and integrity of football, and this must always be respected,” the statement read.

FairSquare, in its complaint, is questioning the credibility and integrity of Infantino, who also became an IOC member in 2020. The organisation said he “is obliged to adhere to strict rules on political neutrality in the Olympic Charter and the IOC Code of Ethics, adding that the IOC can expel members who don’t fulfill these obligations.

“As outlined in the FairSquare ​complaint, there is compelling evidence that ​Infantino has committed five clear breaches ⁠of IOC rules on political neutrality through statements or other clear expressions of support for the US President,” FairSquare posted on its website.

One “serious breach” in the complaint was the Balogun situation with Infantino possibly giving in to pressure from Trump. Another was Infantino promoting a FIFA fan site for the 2026 World Cup, “which appears to have been part ⁠of a data-harvesting campaign run by entities linked to President Trump,” FairSquare wrote.

Another alleged breach was Infantino’s supportive post on his Instagram account after attending an event linked to Trump’s presidential inauguration in January 2025.

Infantino also publicly endorsed Trump for the Nobel Prize in October 2025, and he made more supportive comments ⁠in November. ​In December, Infantino presented Trump with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize at the World Cup draw at the Kennedy Center.

FairSquare also made a complaint to FIFA’s ethics committee in December, which was supported by the Norwegian football federation as well as 50 members of the ​European Parliament in a separate writing on June 29.

The IOC and FIFA did not respond to requests for comment from multiple media outlets.

 Punjab Child Protection and Welfare Bureau Chairperson and Member of the Provincial Assembly Sarah Ahmed has submitted a resolution in the Punjab Assembly seeking restrictions on social media use by children under the age of 16.

The resolution calls for a ban on social media access for children below 16 years of age to protect them from the harmful effects of online platforms.

According to the text of the resolution, Sarah Ahmed also proposed banning the photography and videography of children under the age of 16.

The resolution further appealed to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to formulate an effective legal and regulatory framework to implement the proposed measures.

It also urged practical steps to ensure the psychological and moral protection of children, calling on the PTA to ensure that harmful or inappropriate content targeting children is promptly blocked across all mobile and social media applications.