Iran Hormuz zone to reach Arabian Sea, Guards say

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday that a new “prohibited zone” outside the Strait of Hormuz would cover parts of the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Sea, with exact coordinates to be announced later.

Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi told state television the zone would approximately start from the direction of Chabahar and run along a route that can lead to the Strait of Hormuz.

Mohebi said a vessel entering the area without coordination would be subject to Iranian sanctions. He said Iran could later refuse services to such vessels, including access to the Strait of Hormuz and insurance-related services.

The announcement came after Iran reported “significant progress” with Oman, another coastal state on Hormuz, in talks on a temporary shipping route through the strait.

Iranian forces have restricted traffic through Hormuz since the start of the war with the United States on February 28. The United States has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports. Tehran has required vessels to seek permission to transit and has said there will be no return to unrestricted navigation.

Iranian forces said Tuesday they had struck 10 vessels that tried to cross Hormuz without coordination. US President Donald Trump said recently that American forces had helped vessels pass through the strait, “averaging 30 ships a night”. Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei said Sunday that the United States tries each night to help five or six ships through and that “usually these ships get hit”.

Mohebi said the war could end if Washington halted renewed threats, secured an Israeli army withdrawal from Lebanon, ended the blockade of Yemen, released $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets and refrained from interference in Iran's nuclear and missile capabilities.