The New Indian Express ·
Iran says new 'prohibited zone' extends beyond Hormuz into parts of Arabian Sea
TEHRAN: Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday said a new "prohibited zone" would cover waters many miles beyond the Strait of Hormuz and apply to ships as far as the Arabian Sea.
Iran had first announced the "prohibited zone" earlier this week as it continued talks with Oman over a temporary shipping route through the strait.
Iranian forces have restricted traffic through Hormuz, a vital energy conduit, since the start of the war with the United States on February 28. The US has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
In an interview with state television, Revolutionary Guards spokesman Hossein Mohebi said the "prohibited zone" would cover "part of the Sea of Oman and another part of the Arabian Sea, along the route that can lead to the Strait of Hormuz". He added that exact coordinates would be announced later.
"If a vessel enters that area without coordination, it will be subject to our sanctions," he said.
"It means, for example, that if it later wants to come and use the Strait of Hormuz, if it wants to receive services somewhere, such as insurance or other related services, we will refrain from providing those services," he continued.
Tehran has demanded that vessels seek permission to transit the strait, insisting there will be no return to the pre-war system of unrestricted navigation.
On Tuesday, Iranian forces said they struck 10 vessels that attempted to cross Hormuz without coordination.
US President Donald Trump said in recent days American forces have helped facilitate the passage of vessels through the strait, "averaging 30 ships a night".
Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei said Sunday that the US tries each night to help five or six ships through, "and usually these ships get hit".
In his remarks Wednesday, Mohebi said the war with the United States could end if Washington halts "renewed threats, withdraws the Israeli regime's army from Lebanon and ends the blockade of Yemen", in reference to the Saudi-led coalition's decade-long restrictions on ports and airports run by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
He further urged the US to "release $24 billion in Iran's frozen assets, and refrain from any interference in the country's nuclear and missile capabilities".
Iran has repeatedly insisted that it will not reopen Hormuz until the US meets its demands.
