Iran to impose new restricted zone near Strait of Hormuz

Iran will establish a new restricted zone near the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days, with vessels entering the area without coordination with Tehran to be placed on an Iranian sanctions list, the country’s top security official said. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told state television on Sunday that the zone would begin at the US navy’s blockade line and extend into parts of the Persian Gulf toward Iranian loading ports. He said vessels entering the designated area could face sanctions affecting their insurance and ability to transit the Strait of Hormuz in the future. Rezaei also said Iran expected a memorandum on a new shipping corridor through the strait to be signed in the coming days, with Tehran managing entry and exit. However, he said Iran would not guarantee a full reopening of the waterway unless the United States halted its attacks and hostile actions. Iran has maintained that the Strait of Hormuz is “completely closed and under the control of the armed forces”, rejecting US claims that the strategic waterway remains open. Rezaei said only seven or eight vessels were currently passing through the strait each day, mainly carrying essential goods for Iran, compared with more than 100 ships before the closure. “The Americans are trying to smuggle five to six vessels through at great expense, but these ships are usually struck, ” Rezaei said. He added that Iran has not decided to sink the smuggling vessels, as they carry oil and would damage the region’s environment, Iran’s state TV quoted him as saying. Shipping through Hormuz has been severely disrupted since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran on February 28. Rezaei also claimed Iran had tested a new domestically produced anti-ship missile over a US navy vessel about 48 hours earlier, saying the test demonstrated the vulnerability of the American naval blockade. The SNSC secretary also said Iran reserves the right to respond to a US attack on a wedding ceremony in Sirik. Rezaei meanwhile sought to downplay the economic impact of the confrontation, saying Iran continued to sell oil, receive export revenues and maintain sufficient reserves of essential goods.

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