Iran’s top security official threatens US with blockade across Gulf
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- Iran’s top security official Mohsen Rezaei says Tehran will establish a restricted maritime zone extending from the US blockade line into parts of the Persian Gulf.
- The warning comes amid escalating US-Iran tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran threatening sanctions against vessels entering the new zone.
Iran has warned the United States that it is preparing to expand maritime restrictions across the Persian Gulf, raising the prospect of 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 of Hormuz in the coming days.
Rezaei said the zone would begin at the line of the US naval blockade and extend into parts of the Persian Gulf. Any vessel entering the area would be placed on Iran’s sanctions list, according to Iranian state media.
He also said Iran’s recent missile launches were intended as a warning to Washington and signaled a fundamental change in Tehran’s approach to US military forces in the region.
“Economic warfare will be met by a maritime exclusion zone across the Persian Gulf to the blockade perimeter,” Rezaei said, according to the statement cited by the user.
“The operational posture toward US warships and bases has been fundamentally recalibrated.”
The announcement comes after renewed clashes between the US and Iran, including US strikes on Iranian oil tankers and Iranian attacks on US warships. The escalation has already sharply reduced commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical global energy route, with millions of barrels of oil passing through it each day. Any further restrictions on shipping could increase pressure on global energy markets and raise concerns over supply disruptions.
Brent crude climbed above $97 a barrel on Monday as tensions around the waterway intensified.
Rezaei has also said Iran and Oman are working on a new international shipping corridor through the strait, with Tehran and Muscat expected to finalize an agreement in the coming days. Details of the proposed route have not yet been publicly released.
Iran has maintained that the Strait of Hormuz will remain open only if the United States ends what Tehran describes as attacks, threats and economic pressure against Iran.
The planned restricted zone adds another layer to the confrontation, increasing uncertainty for commercial shipping and raising the risk of further escalation in the Gulf.
