Iran is preparing to establish a new “restricted zone” for commercial shipping beyond the Strait of Hormuz, with vessels entering the designated area facing sanctions and possible consequences for insurance and future passage through the strategic waterway, according to a senior Iranian security official.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said during a televised interview on Sunday that Tehran would announce details of the zone within days as tensions with the United States continue to escalate across the Gulf.
According to Rezaei, the restricted area will begin near what he described as the US Navy’s “blockade line” and extend into parts of the Persian Gulf towards several important ports.
“Any vessel entering this new zone will be placed on a sanctions list,” Rezaei said, claiming the designation could affect insurance coverage and the vessel’s ability to subsequently transit the Strait of Hormuz.
The announcement follows renewed military exchanges between Washington and Tehran. The US resumed strikes against Iranian targets last week, saying it was responding to Iranian attacks on commercial shipping. Iran subsequently launched missiles and drones against US military facilities in the region and targeted American naval vessels.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important energy corridors, normally carrying around one-fifth of global oil shipments.
Rezaei claimed the strait remained “completely closed and under the control of the armed forces” of Iran, rejecting US President Donald Trump’s assertion that the waterway remained open.
He said more than 100 vessels had previously travelled through the strait each day but claimed traffic had fallen to seven or eight vessels daily, primarily ships carrying essential supplies for Iran.
Rezaei also alleged that the US had attempted to move several vessels through the area despite Iranian restrictions. He said Tehran had avoided sinking oil-carrying ships because of the potential environmental consequences.
The latest warning comes after US forces attacked three Iranian commercial vessels on Saturday as part of Washington’s blockade of Iranian ports. One of those vessels, the M/T Kylo, subsequently sank in the Gulf of Oman.
US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has warned that Washington could expand its operations against Iranian oil tankers if Tehran continues targeting American naval forces.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, meanwhile, warned that additional US military action would trigger increasingly severe retaliation.
“The Americans have surely understood that the era of proportionate responses has come to an end,” Ghalibaf said, adding that Iran’s recent strikes on US bases were “only a start.”
The planned restricted zone represents a further escalation in the confrontation over shipping access in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a maritime route whose disruption has significant implications for international energy supplies and global trade.
