Day 192 | Iran to announce new restricted zone outside Strait of Hormuz, says top security official
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said the maritime zone designated by Iran will include areas in the Gulf, according to state media. He said the zone will begin from the line of the US Navy’s blockade, adding that any ships entering the area will be placed on Iran’s sanctions list.
Rezaei also said Iran and Oman have agreed on maps detailing the passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz. He added that the maps are expected to be formally signed in the coming days.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned that any new attacks on Iran would trigger what he described as a “faster, heavier and more painful response.”
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said three people were killed in an ‘Israeli’ drone strike targeting a car in Nabatieh, as ‘Israeli’ forces continue carrying out strikes across southern Lebanon.
Shipping traffic in Hormuz drops to its lowest level since May
The average number of cargo vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz over the past 10 days has fallen to its lowest level since May, according to Reuters, citing data from shipping tracker Kpler.
The data showed an average of just 10 cargo ships crossing the strategic waterway each day during the period.
Only two vessels passed through the strait on Saturday, while six crossed on Sunday, with most using the Iranian route, Reuters reported.
‘Israeli’ army orders evacuation in Lebanon's Deir al-Zahrani
The ‘Israeli’ army issued an urgent evacuation warning to residents of a building in Deir al-Zahrani, in the Nabatieh district of southern Lebanon.
The army’s spokesperson called on residents of the building marked in red on an accompanying map, as well as those in nearby buildings, to leave immediately.
The spokesperson said the building is located near a facility belonging to Hezbollah that the army intends to target.
Residents were instructed to leave the building and surrounding structures and move at least 300 meters away, citing concerns for their safety and that of their families.
Canada urges end to Iranian threats in Strait of Hormuz
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand called on Iran to end what Ottawa described as destabilizing activities in the Middle East, including threats to ships seeking to cross the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on X, Anand said Iran’s actions continue to undermine global peace and security. She said Canada is working with partners to maintain pressure on Tehran, including through sanctions and efforts to disrupt its ability to finance what Ottawa describes as terrorist activities.
A joint statement by Anand and Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said Canada is working closely with G7 partners to maintain “significant pressure” on Iran.
The statement said Canada supports US, French and British efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while maintaining sanctions imposed on Iran, including measures announced under the US-led “Economic Outcast” operation.
Ottawa said it would continue coordinating with its partners and consider additional measures aimed at promoting regional security and pressuring Iran to end its “malign behavior.”
US is ‘strangling’ Iran’s economy, energy secretary says
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Washington is “strangling” Iran’s economy to pressure its government into changing its policies or being replaced.
“We are strangling their economy to try to bring either a change in policy from the existing regime or a new regime,” Wright told CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday.
Energy exports targeted
Wright said the US military’s main role is preventing Iran from exporting crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas and other energy-related goods.
He said Washington nevertheless remains open to negotiations with Tehran.
“We are always ready to make a deal,” Wright said, adding that President Donald Trump’s preferred outcome is a negotiated solution and that military action should be used only when “absolutely necessary.”
Iran says Strait of Hormuz was ‘wide open’ until US caused shipping disruption
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the Strait of Hormuz was “wide open” before the US and ‘Israel’ launched their war on Iran on February 28.
Baghaei accused Washington of disrupting commercial shipping, saying tankers have been halted, trade disrupted and energy prices driven higher. His comments echo earlier statements blaming the US and ‘Israel’ for instability in the strategic waterway.
“Washington unleashed an unlawful and savage war on the region and disrupted the normal flow of commercial shipping,” Baghaei said in a post on X.
He accused the US of trying to shift responsibility for the consequences of the war onto Iran.
“America started the war but expects the whole world to pay the bill,” he said.
Baghaei accompanied the post with a The Simpsons meme mocking Washington’s handling of the crisis, showing a fire spreading out of control as Homer Simpson says: “Relax. It’s a controlled burn.”
Day 191 of the US-‘Israeli’ war on Iran
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Read more: Day 191 | US CENTCOM, Iran's IRGC exchange missile strikes over vessels
