Iran Plans New Gulf Restricted Zone and Hormuz Shipping Corridor as Oil Prices Rise

Iran plans to announce a new restricted zone in the Gulf and approve maps for a new shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, a move that comes as renewed attacks disrupt shipping and push oil prices higher.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the restricted zone would begin where the US blockade of Iran starts and extend into Gulf waters. Any ship entering the zone would be placed on a sanctions list, he said in an interview with Iranian state television.

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The maps of a new international corridor which lies in Iranian and Omani waters and in which Iran will have management have been agreed and should be signed in the coming days.

Rezaei said the proposed international corridor would run through Iranian and Omani waters and be managed by Iran. “The maps of a new international corridor which lies in Iranian and Omani waters and in which Iran will have management have been agreed and should be signed in the coming days,” he said.

He added that Iran would only commit to keeping the Strait of Hormuz open if the United States stopped what he called sabotage, threats and attacks against Iran. The strait has remained largely closed to tanker traffic during the conflict. An average of 10 commodity ships crossed it each day over the previous 10 days, the lowest level since May, shipping data showed.

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We will only commit to the Strait of Hormuz being open when they stop the sabotage, threats and attacks on Iran.

The reduced traffic helped extend oil’s gains. Brent crude rose 0.8% to above $97 a barrel. US Central Command said US forces had struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, including one near Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub, after attacks by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps on US warships.

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The rules of the game have changed before it is too late.

The conflict appears to have reached a stalemate six months after US and Israeli strikes on Iran began the war. A preliminary ceasefire agreement reached in June has unraveled, while diplomatic efforts have made little progress. Tehran says it will intensify efforts to deal with the economic damage caused by US sanctions, but three senior Iranian sources said the campaign to block oil exports and prevent sanctions evasion was becoming increasingly difficult to withstand.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said the United States should understand that “the rules of the game have changed before it is too late.” He warned that any further attack on Iran’s interests or security would receive a faster, heavier and more painful response. Qalibaf said Iran’s main battle, alongside the military front, now concerned production and people’s livelihoods.

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From now on, any attack against Iran’s interests and security will receive a faster, heavier and more painful response.