Iran says it will declare 'prohibited zone' near Strait of Hormuz in coming days

Vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. (Photo/Reuters)

Iran's top security chief has said that Iran would establish a "prohibited zone" near the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days.

"This zone will start from the US Navy's blockade line and include areas of the Persian Gulf,” Mohsen Rezaei told Iranian state TV on Sunday.

“Any ship entering this new zone will be placed on the sanctions list of Iran,” he added.

Rezaei also said Iran and Oman would sign an agreement in the coming days on the new corridor through Hormuz, with its entry and exit points under Iranian control.

He said the Strait of Hormuz was “completely closed and under the control of the armed forces,” dismissing US President Donald Trump’s claim that the strategic waterway remained open as a “big lie.”

Before Iran closed the strait, more than 100 ships carrying over 100 million tons of cargo passed through it daily, Rezaei said. He added that only seven or eight ships carrying essential goods for Iran were now transiting the waterway.

The latest development comes as Tehran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned of a more forceful response to any further US attacks after Tehran targeted American warships in their latest round of clashes.

The exchanges of fire, which began with US raids last week, come amid a deadlock in the six-month war between the two foes.

Iran has maintained its stranglehold on the strategic Strait of Hormuz while Washington continues a counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

Washington is rolling out sanctions on entities with financial links to the Islamic Republic.

Ghalibaf, who has acted as chief negotiator in talks to end the war, said on Sunday that "the era of proportionate responses has come to an end".

"Any aggression against Iran's interests and security will receive a faster, more intense and more painful response," he added, in a speech carried by state media.

Vessels targeted

On Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American military operations in the region, said Iran had fired at two American warships, an aircraft carrier and a destroyer.

In response, the US struck three oil tankers it said were linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guards (IRGC).

Video posted by the military showed large fireballs and billowing flames after projectiles slammed into the ships.

The three vessels were "part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies", CENTCOM said.

Iran quickly retaliated, with the Guards saying their naval forces "targeted three oil tankers on the unauthorised route of the Strait of Hormuz and three vessels affiliated with the child-killing America in other areas".

It warned ships not to attempt to transit the key trade waterway via routes not approved by Tehran.

Early on Sunday, Iran's Guards also said they attacked a US naval drone trying to enter the strait, according to a statement carried by state television.

CENTCOM spokesman Captain Tim Hawkins, however, called the claim "a complete lie".

'Clinging on to power'

CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper had said after the exchange of strikes: "If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost - taking out three of yours."

The Iranian foreign ministry condemned the attacks on its oil tankers as "illegal and aggressive actions".

A fragile ceasefire between the two sides collapsed in July after attacks on commercial ships in the Hormuz Strait, through which one-fifth of world oil supplies previously flowed.

Trump has repeatedly warned in recent weeks and claimed sovereignty over the strait.

Vance has insisted the US will not reopen talks with Iran until it ends attacks on commercial shipping in the strait.

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Source: TRT