WASHINGTON — More than four months into the Iran war, the Houthis in Yemen have signaled that they could widen the conflict to include the Red Sea, further roiling global energy markets months before the US midterm elections. 

The Houthi threat comes as Iran and the United States edge closer to full-blown war after more than a week of escalating tit-for-tat strikes and a renewed US naval blockade on Iranian ports. In a statement Wednesday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened in response to the blockade to close “all other export corridors that benefit the US and its allies.”

President Donald Trump has warned that the United States will “knock out” Iranian power plants and “all their bridges” unless Tehran returns to the negotiating table for talks on permanently ending the war and fully opening the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most vital energy chokepoint. On Thursday, the average national price of diesel in the United States rose to $5.01, a 30% increase since the United States and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, according to data from the American Automobile Association. 

Truce unravels