Iran to declare ‘restricted zone’ beyond Strait of Hormuz

As tensions between Iran and the United States continue, Tehran has announced plans to expand controls over maritime traffic around the Strait of Hormuz.

The Operative Information Center-OMM reports that Brig. Gen. Hossein Mohebbi, a spokesman for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said a “restricted zone” would be established beyond the Strait of Hormuz, covering waters stretching from the area around Chabahar to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, in response to a US blockade.

Mohebbi said the Strait of Hormuz had become not only a maritime passage but also an important factor in the global order and military developments.

According to him, control over vessel traffic had previously been limited to the strait, but the area is now being expanded.

The general said part of the planned zone would begin around Chabahar and cover routes in the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. The zone’s precise coordinates and other details will be announced later.

The Iranian official warned that if any vessel passes through the sanctioned section of the Strait of Hormuz without coordination, maritime, insurance and other support services provided to that vessel will be suspended.

Mohebbi added that such vessels could remain deprived of those services even during subsequent passages.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Sept. 8 that Iran would establish a “prohibited zone” in and around the Persian Gulf in response to a US blockade imposed on Iran.