Iran to announce restricted zone outside Strait of Hormuz

Iran is preparing to announce a restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz, and vessels entering without prior coordination with Tehran will be placed on Iran’s sanctions list, Mohsen Rezaei said.

The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council told state-run IRIB TV that the zone would extend from the point where the U.S. naval blockade begins toward the Strait of Hormuz and into the Persian Gulf on the opposite side. Sanctions could affect vessels’ insurance coverage and their future passage through the waterway.

Rezaei described the move as part of a broader shift in Iran’s approach to war and diplomacy, aimed at increasing pressure on the United States. He said the strait remained completely closed and dismissed U.S. claims that ships and oil tankers continued to cross it as a “lie”.

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lie

He said some vessels had tried to use a route near Oman, with some switching off their navigation systems to avoid detection. Most were being hit, he said, but Iran did not currently intend to sink them because of environmental concerns.

Rezaei also said Tehran had test-fired a domestically developed anti-destroyer missile over a U.S. aircraft carrier 48 hours earlier. He called the test a warning that the U.S. blockade was vulnerable, saying, “The special missile created hell for the Americans, and they fled.”

He said the strait would remain closed until Washington took practical steps to meet its obligations under a June memorandum of understanding on peace. Iran and Oman, he added, would announce a new international passage corridor in the coming days, managed by Iran. The restrictions followed U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 and a subsequent U.S. naval blockade targeting vessels travelling to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas.

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The special missile created hell for the Americans, and they fled.