# Iran threatens Strait of Hormuz closure as tensions escalate > An Iranian army spokesman says the strategic waterway will reopen only if the U.S. leaves the Middle East, as ships face ongoing attacks and Iraq reports massive economic losses. - Title: Iran threatens Strait of Hormuz closure as tensions escalate - Summary: An Iranian army spokesman says the strategic waterway will reopen only if the U.S. leaves the Middle East, as ships face ongoing attacks and Iraq reports… - Keywords: breaking, iran, strait of hormuz, united states, middle east, houthis, yemen, iraq, oil exports, military conflict, news, threatens - Source: CBS News — https://cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-of-hormuz-yemen-houthis-saudi-arabia - Published: 2026-10-16T13:44:20+00:00 - Read time: 2 min - Topics: breaking, iran, strait of hormuz, united states, middle east, houthis, yemen, iraq, oil exports, military conflict, news ## Iran's condition for the strait An Iranian army spokesman said Friday the Strait of Hormuz will reopen if the U.S. leaves the Middle East. If not, he wrote, Iran will expel it. > If it does not leave, we will expel it. ## Ships under attack in the strait A maritime monitor warned Thursday that vessels face indiscriminate attacks in the Strait of Hormuz even when they switch off tracking systems. Three strikes hit vessels this week. ## Houthis strike Yemen's capital The Iran-backed Houthis launched a strike Thursday on the presidential palace in Yemen's government-held de facto capital of Aden, causing multiple deaths and injuries among security staff. ## Iraq's sixty billion dollar loss Iraq has lost around sixty billion dollars during the U.S.-Iran war as fighting blocked the Strait of Hormuz, crucial to its oil exports, Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said Thursday. ## Iraq's production before conflict OPEC member Iraq was producing about four million barrels of oil per day before the conflict and exporting about three point five million barrels per day via the Persian Gulf. ## Iraq forced to halt production Iran's threats to vessels have forced Iraq, lacking storage capacity, to halt most production and rely on limited exports via Syria and Turkey by truck and pipeline. ## Iraq's modest export recovery Iraqi oil exports recovered modestly last month, reaching two point six million barrels per day between September first and twenty-first, according to the oil ministry. ## Iraq's economic crisis deepens Iraq's foreign currency reserves have shrunk by twenty billion dollars and consumer prices have risen sharply, plunging the country into economic crisis despite modest export recovery. ## Norwegian teen sentenced for murder plot Johannes Kongsnes Natland, nineteen, was sentenced Friday to twenty years in prison for conspiracy to murder on behalf of an Iran-linked crime gang. He was arrested with two guns. ## Natland recruited online for contract killing Natland was recruited by the Foxtrot Network, a Swedish organized crime group with links to the Iranian government, while playing a game online. He was offered twenty eight thousand dollars. ## Tanker burning in Gulf of Oman The Iranian navy said Friday it identified a tanker on fire in a prohibited area in the Gulf of Oman east of the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel had switched off tracking systems. ## Iran president calls conflict ecocide Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian urged countries Friday to condemn what he called ecocide in the Middle East caused by wars of aggression against his country at a nature summit in Armenia. > What has occurred in our region as a result of wars of aggression is ecocide, or environmental genocide, and it must be condemned. ## White House prepares MOAB plans for Iran The White House and Pentagon have prepared plans to use a Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb on Iranian military sites if ordered by President Trump, sources told CBS News. ## Key takeaway Iran's military says the Strait of Hormuz will reopen if the U.S. withdraws from the region, while ships continue facing attacks and Iraq loses sixty billion dollars in oil revenue.