To break the stalemate caused by the U.S. blockade of its country the military of Iran announced that it will restrict commercial traffic across the Red Sea, the Gulf and the Sea of Oman.
It will not require much action from Iran to do so. A few drone strikes against civilian ships near Arab Gulf countries and a few threats by Ansarallah in Yemen against ships in the Red Sea will up the insurance costs sufficiently to make any traffic in those areas unprofitable.
The danger zone in the Persian Gulf/Arab Sea/Red Sea area has thus expanded to a much larger area.
The move will block another big share of oil exports from the region.
Saudi Arabia had circumvented the imposition of traffic control through the Strait of Hormuz by Iran by re-routing oil through its east-west pipeline to Yanbu in the Red Sea. Some 4 to 5 million barrels per day are exported from there. The closure of the Red Sea at its southern opening will block most of that traffic.
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The lack of oil and fertilizer supplies in the markets will necessitate large scale demand destructions. In the case of oil this means less driving, less air condition and fewer air planes. But the lack of fertilizers means large scale famines and deaths.
Only an immediate end of the conflict can prevent the worst of it.