Iran to Blacklist Ships Entering New Gulf Zone
Iran to Blacklist Ships Entering New Gulf Zone
The News
Iran will announce a new restricted zone in the Gulf within days and put any ship that enters it on a sanctions list, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, said Sunday on state TV.
Rezaei said the zone starts at the line of the U.S. Navy's blockade of Iran, takes in the Strait of Hormuz and extends into the Persian Gulf. Few other details were given.
He also said maps for a new shipping corridor running through Iranian and Omani waters — managed by Iran — have been agreed and should be signed "in the coming days."
Timeline
President Donald Trump announces "major combat operations" against Iran, with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on military, government and infrastructure sites, according to ABC News.
A U.S. blockade of Iranian oil exports begins, disrupting flows from Kharg Island, the hub that handled 90% of Iran's crude exports before the war.
U.S. and Iranian delegations open talks on a war-ending deal built on a memorandum of understanding signed by both sides. A preliminary ceasefire accord reached that month later unravels.
Trump posts a one-line message with an AI-generated video showing Kharg Island being "blown to smithereens," Reuters reported. Iranian officials vow a strong response if the island is hit.
Iran's IRGC navy says it targeted three oil tankers using "an unauthorized route" through the Strait of Hormuz plus three U.S.-linked vessels elsewhere. U.S. Central Command says U.S. forces struck three Iranian oil tankers, including one off Kharg Island, after IRGC attacks on U.S. warships.
Rezaei announces the coming restricted zone on state TV. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf says on Telegram that "the era of 'proportionate responses' is over."
Brent crude trades 0.8% higher, above $97 a barrel, extending last week's gains.
Reactions
"We will only commit to the Strait of Hormuz being open when they (the Americans) stop the sabotage, threats and attacks on Iran," Rezaei said.
Qalibaf warned that Washington should grasp that the rules have changed "before it is too late." He added: "From now on, any attack against Iran's interests and security will receive a faster, heavier and more painful response." He said Iran's main battle was now over production and livelihoods, citing currency swings, inflation and unemployment.
Iran's Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh rejected the idea that sanctions would force a change of course. "The responsibility of reforming Iran's economy is with its government and people, not with the U.S. Treasury," he said, according to state media.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNN oil is still moving. "Our transits through the Strait are averaging over 9 million barrels a day now, and with the access pipelines that go around the strait, we're probably two-thirds or more of pre-conflict flows. So Iranians are still causing trouble, but the United States Navy is winning that battle."
What's Next
Iran says the zone and the corridor maps will be published in the coming days, and that the Oman corridor agreement is ready to be signed. Bloomberg reported Iran describing the deal with Oman as just days away.
Enforcement is the open question: Rezaei's only stated penalty is a sanctions list, and Tehran has tied reopening Hormuz to an end to U.S. strikes. With tit-for-tat attacks back on after an August lull, the next round of shipping strikes will set the price of oil heading into the November midterms.
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The Numbers
About a fifth of global oil supplies moved through the Strait of Hormuz before the conflict. Traffic is now a trickle: an average of 10 commodity ships a day over the past 10 days, the lowest since May, according to shipping data cited by Reuters.
U.S. Central Command said on X that as of Sunday it had redirected 92 commercial vessels, disabled three and boarded two to enforce the blockade.
Iran's oil minister, Mohsen Paknejad, said on state TV that Kharg Island has been hit around 550 times in previous months and is still operating. Iran is OPEC's third-largest producer.
Higher fuel prices from the Hormuz disruption have weighed on Trump's standing as Republicans head into November elections with control of Congress at stake.
Poll
How should Washington respond if Iran declares the new restricted zone?
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