Iran says it will announce a new restricted zone in the Gulf in the coming days, alongside maps for a new shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz, as renewed strikes on shipping 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 parts of the Gulf.
Rezaei provided few details but said any vessel entering the new zone would be placed on a sanctions list.
He also said maps outlining new routes through the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global energy corridor that has been largely closed to tanker traffic, would soon be approved.
“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.
Iran has tied the reopening of the strait to an end to US military action against Tehran.
“We will only commit to the Strait of Hormuz being open when they (the Americans) stop the sabotage, threats and attacks on Iran,” Rezaei added.
The announcement comes six months after US-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered the conflict, with the war now appearing to have reached a stalemate. A preliminary ceasefire agreement reached in June has collapsed, while diplomatic efforts to revive peace talks have made little progress.
After a relative pause in military operations during much of August, strikes have resumed between the two sides.
US forces struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, including one near Kharg Island, Iran’s key oil-export hub, according to US Central Command. The strikes followed attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on US warships in the region.
Tehran has demonstrated that it retains the capability to target US interests in neighbouring countries and disrupt oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of global oil supplies passed before the conflict.
An average of 10 commodity ships crossed the strait each day over the previous 10 days, the lowest level since May, according to shipping data released Monday.
The reduced traffic helped extend last week’s sharp oil-price gains, with Brent crude rising 0.8 per cent to above $97 a barrel.
Iran is also facing mounting economic pressure from US sanctions targeting its oil exports and efforts to prevent sanctions evasion.
Three senior Iranian sources said the US campaign to restrict Iran’s oil revenues and squeeze its economy was becoming increasingly difficult for Tehran to withstand.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said the United States needed to recognise that the circumstances had changed.
“From now on, any attack against Iran’s interests and security will receive a faster, heavier and more painful response,” he said in a speech published on his Telegram channel.
Qalibaf said Iran’s main battle, alongside the military conflict, was now focused on production and the livelihoods of its citizens.
He cited currency volatility, inflation, unemployment and market management among the country’s major economic challenges, saying Iranians could endure hardship but not government mismanagement or inaction.
Iran’s Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said Tehran planned to counter US economic pressure through reforms and rejected the idea that sanctions would force Iran to change its political course, according to state media.
“They speak of economic pressure and isolation, of breaking off financial ties and they think that by pressuring the economy of a country they can change the decisions of its people,” Madanizadeh said.
“I have to clarify one point: The responsibility of reforming Iran’s economy is with its government and people, not with the US Treasury.”
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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