Day 193 | Tehran warns ships against using the 'US corridor' in Hormuz
Iran is moving toward a more aggressive military posture, with Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf announcing a new military and security strategy that abandons "proportionate retaliation" in favor of immediate preemptive strikes designed to inflict greater damage on US bases and interests across the region.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said Tehran will declare a restricted maritime zone outside the Strait of Hormuz, extending from the point where the US naval blockade begins.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also announced the arrest of an "armed cell linked to the royalist movement" in southern Fars province. Security forces separately seized shipments of weapons and ammunition during operations in West Azerbaijan province in northwestern Iran.
The US Central Command (CENTCOM), meanwhile, said it had destroyed or disabled three giant Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for what it described as an IRGC naval attack on a US aircraft carrier and destroyer.
In Lebanon, Civil Defense said 10 people were killed and seven others wounded in two ‘Israeli’ airstrikes on the southern town of Kfar Rumman.
Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri accused ‘Israel’ of continuing to turn southern Lebanon and its people into "a ballot box paid for in blood" ahead of the country’s upcoming elections.
Lebanon’s Health Ministry said the death toll from ‘Israeli’ attacks since March 2 has reached 4,362, with 12,378 people wounded, as of Sunday.
Iran’s top security official threatens US with blockade across Gulf
Iran has warned the United States that it is preparing to expand maritime restrictions across the Persian Gulf, raising concerns over a wider blockade around the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran would announce a new restricted zone outside the strait in the coming days.
Tehran threatens sanctions on vessels
According to Iranian state media, Rezaei said the zone would begin at the line of the US naval blockade and extend into parts of the Persian Gulf. Vessels entering the area would be placed on Iran’s sanctions list.
Rezaei said Iran’s recent missile launches were intended as a warning to Washington and reflected a fundamental shift in Tehran’s approach toward US military forces in the region.
He said Iran would respond to what it describes as economic warfare with a maritime exclusion zone extending to the blockade perimeter.
The announcement comes amid renewed US-Iran clashes and a sharp reduction in commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
The waterway is a critical global energy route, with millions of barrels of oil passing through it each day. Further restrictions could disrupt supplies and put additional pressure on global energy markets.
Brent crude rose above $97 a barrel on Monday as tensions around the strait intensified.
Rezaei has also said Iran and Oman are working on a new international shipping corridor through the strait, with an agreement potentially due in the coming days. Details of the proposed route have not been released.
Tehran has maintained that navigation through the Strait of Hormuz depends on the United States ending what Iran describes as attacks, threats and economic pressure.
The planned restricted zone could further complicate commercial shipping in the Gulf and increase the risk of a wider regional escalation.
Iran says Hormuz agreement ready after Qatari talks
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said a high-level Qatari delegation held “positive” talks in Tehran with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on reducing regional tensions and finalizing an agreement governing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the agreement is ready and could be announced within days, potentially easing tensions around the strategic waterway, which carries a significant share of global energy shipments.
Tehran announces new maritime restrictions
Alongside the diplomatic developments, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei announced a new maritime exclusion zone and a ban on the movement of vessels linked to the US.
The parallel moves reflect the fragile nature of the situation, as Tehran pursues diplomatic arrangements while maintaining pressure on US-linked shipping.
Political analyst David Des Roches also described an unofficial truce between Tehran and ‘Israel’ ahead of ‘Israel’s’ elections in October.
The developments come amid continued concerns over restrictions on tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the possibility of further US military action if the maritime standoff escalates.
For now, a formal navigation agreement could offer a path toward easing the crisis, although Iran’s latest maritime restrictions indicate that tensions remain high.
CENTCOM: 94 vessels rerouted since Iran blockade resumed
US Central Command said 94 vessels have been rerouted, three vessels disabled and two inspected since the US resumed its naval blockade of Iran.
The command added that the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush continues to support enforcement of the blockade in the Arabian Sea.
Iran’s Araghchi calls for Islamic nations’ unity against US-'Israeli' aggression
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has called for a “responsible response from Islamic nations” during a conversation with Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, the newly appointed secretary-general of the 57-member Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Araghchi said in a social media post that he also discussed his concerns over continued ‘Israeli’ aggression against Palestine and Lebanon.
Day 192 of the US-‘Israeli’ war on Iran
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