Live from NPR News in Washington, I'm Louise Skiavone.

Iran's military is warning it will retaliate by blocking other important shipping routes

if the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues.

NPR's Jackie Northam explains what that would look like.

Major General Ali Abdalahi, the commander of Iran's top military command center,

threatened to halt all trade in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Red Sea.

A particular concern is the Babel Mandeb, a narrow waterway in the Red Sea

for vessels sailing between Europe and Asia.

Iranian-aligned Houthi militias in Yemen control much of the coastline near the Babel Mandeb,

and severely disrupted shipping during the height of the Gaza War. Saudi Arabia started diverting

crude oil from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea by pipeline just after the Iran War began in

late February. That route could be in jeopardy if Iran retaliates.

Jackie Northam, NPR News. The Trump administration appears close to nominating a new director of the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, NPR's PIN Wong reports on the leading candidate.

Dr. Erica Schwartz previously served as chief medical officer of the U.S.

Coast Guard and deputy surgeon general in the first Trump administration. She could be announced as

President Trump's pick for CDC director, as early as this week, according to an administration

official, who wasn't authorized to speak to the media about the deliberations. Earlier this month, Schwartz posted

a video to Instagram for National Public Health Week. Now, when I was a military physician,

my job was all about readiness. It was all about public health prevention, vaccines, early detection.

In response to a request for comment on Schwartz's candidacy, White House spokesman Cush Desai

said it was baseless speculation unless officially candidacy, White House spokesman Cush Desai said it was

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