Iran is preparing to establish a new restricted maritime zone in the Gulf and approve a new shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz as renewed U.S.-Iranian attacks on vessels further disrupt one of the world’s most important energy routes and push oil prices higher.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
Iran plans to announce a new restricted maritime zone in the Gulf within days and establish a new shipping corridor through the Strait of Hormuz as renewed attacks between U.S. and Iranian forces intensify pressure on commercial shipping and global energy markets.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Sunday that the planned restricted area would begin at the point where the U.S. naval blockade of Iran starts and extend into parts of the Gulf. Ships entering the zone would be placed on an Iranian sanctions list, although Tehran has provided few additional details about how the restrictions would operate.
Iran is also preparing maps establishing new passage routes through the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic waterway connecting the Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and a route that carried roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies before the conflict.
“The maps of a new international corridor which lies in Iranian and Omani waters and in which Iran will have management have been agreed and should be signed in the coming days,” Rezaei said.
Tehran has tied unrestricted passage through the strait to an end to U.S. military and economic pressure.
“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.
The announcement follows a weekend exchange of attacks on shipping that sent oil prices higher Monday and further reduced commercial traffic through the strait.
After military activity remained comparatively subdued through much of August, U.S. and Iranian forces have resumed tit-for-tat attacks. The renewed fighting follows the breakdown of an interim ceasefire reached in June, with diplomatic efforts producing little progress toward ending a conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
U.S. forces struck three Iranian oil tankers Saturday, according to U.S. Central Command, including a vessel near Kharg Island, Iran’s principal oil-export hub. The strikes followed attacks by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against U.S. warships operating in the region.
CENTCOM said the American strikes disabled an oil carrier near Kharg Island and another near Jask and destroyed a third vessel in the Gulf of Oman. Iran subsequently said it targeted three tankers traveling along what Tehran considers unauthorized routes through the Strait of Hormuz, along with three U.S.-linked vessels elsewhere.
Iran has continued to demonstrate an ability to disrupt maritime traffic through Hormuz and threaten U.S. interests elsewhere in the region. Shipping data Monday showed an average of only 10 commodity vessels per day had passed through the strait during the previous 10 days, the lowest level since May.
The disruption has placed renewed upward pressure on energy markets. Brent crude rose above $97 per barrel Monday after finishing the previous week with significant gains amid concerns about supplies moving through the Gulf.
Iran is the third-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and, before the war, shipped approximately 90% of its crude exports through Kharg Island. Iranian oil flows have been disrupted since the United States imposed a naval blockade on Iranian oil exports in mid-April.
Washington has simultaneously intensified efforts to enforce sanctions and prevent Iran from circumventing restrictions on its petroleum exports. U.S. Central Command said that as of Sunday it had redirected 92 commercial vessels, disabled three and boarded two while enforcing the blockade.
The accumulated economic pressure is becoming increasingly difficult for Tehran to absorb, according to three senior Iranian sources, as sanctions and restrictions on oil exports compound domestic problems involving inflation, unemployment, currency instability and management of the economy.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned Sunday that Washington should recognize that the “rules of the game have changed” before further escalation occurs.
“From now on, any attack against Iran’s interests and security will receive a faster, heavier and more painful response,” Qalibaf said in a speech published through his Telegram channel.
Qalibaf also said Iran’s struggle now extends beyond the military confrontation and into the domestic economy, identifying production and the livelihoods of Iranians as another critical front.
He pointed to sharp movements in Iran’s currency, inflation, unemployment and problems managing markets as major challenges confronting the government. Qalibaf said Iranians could endure hardship but should not be expected to accept poor management or government inaction and called for authorities to respond quickly.
Iranian Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh similarly said Tehran intends to answer U.S. economic pressure with domestic reforms rather than alter its policies because of sanctions.
“They speak of economic pressure and isolation, of breaking off financial ties and they think that by pressuring the economy of a country they can change the decisions of its people,” Madanizadeh said, according to Iranian state media Sunday.
“I have to clarify one point: The responsibility of reforming Iran’s economy is with its government and people, not with the U.S. Treasury.”
Kharg Island has become an increasingly prominent flashpoint because of its central role in Iranian oil exports.
On Aug. 31, President Donald Trump published a one-line social media post accompanied by an AI-generated video depicting Kharg Island being “blown to smithereens.” Iranian officials responded by warning that an attack on the island would bring a strong response.
Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said in a state television interview Sunday that Kharg Island had been struck approximately 550 times during previous months but remained operational.
The disruption surrounding Hormuz has also affected U.S. energy costs. Iran’s restrictions on passage through the strait have contributed to higher fuel prices as the Trump administration seeks to maintain oil flows through the waterway.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Sunday that substantial quantities of oil were continuing to pass through Hormuz despite the conflict.
“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,” Wright told CNN.
Before the conflict, roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies moved through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s ability to restrict that traffic has made control of the waterway a central issue in the confrontation and amplified the economic consequences of each new military exchange.
The effects are also being felt politically in the United States, where higher fuel prices have added to economic pressures ahead of November’s midterm elections, when control of Congress will be decided.
For now, neither the military confrontation nor diplomatic negotiations have produced a resolution. Tehran is tightening its claimed authority over shipping routes while Washington continues enforcing its blockade of Iranian oil exports, leaving the Strait of Hormuz at the center of both the military and economic confrontation.
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