Iran said it would target all ports in and close to the Persian Gulf if its own shipping hubs are threatened, heightening the standoff over the Strait of Hormuz after the US announced plans for a blockade of Tehran-linked vessels.

The security of ports in the region is “either for everyone or for no one,” Iran’s armed forces said in a statement on Monday, according to the state-run IRIB News. The US threat to block the strait would be “an act of piracy,” it said, reiterating plans to permanently control the critical waterway even after the war.

The comments add to a game of brinkmanship over the Hormuz strait, a major transit point for energy flows that accounts for about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas. They signal Iran is ready to restart attacks on ports in Arab Gulf states — if the US follows through on a pledge to block all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian hubs from 10 a.m. New York time on Monday.

Such a move would also lead to more tension between the US and China, which buys almost all of Iran’s oil.

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“The risks and costs of a sustained blockade — and potential for pressure from other stakeholders like China — suggest Trump may not follow through or may not sustain a blockade,” they wrote, adding that Beijing may even use its leverage over the US with critical minerals in an effort to pressure Trump.