Iran is moving to redraw the maritime map around one of the world’s most vital oil chokepoints, with its top security official warning that ships could soon face Iranian sanctions simply for sailing in newly restricted waters near the Strait of Hormuz, according to state media.
Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s top security chief, said Tehran would declare a new “prohibited zone” in the coming days close to the strategic strait.
“In the coming days, a prohibited zone will be announced outside the Strait of Hormuz. This zone will start from the US Navy’s blockade line and include areas of the Persian Gulf. Any ship entering this new zone will be placed on the sanctions list” of Iran, Mr Rezaei told the state TV.
The announcement came as Iran reported further confrontation at sea, saying its forces struck a US naval drone it claimed was trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz—just hours after Iranian forces targeted multiple vessels in what Tehran described as retaliation for US strikes on three oil tankers.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Washington should grasp that the terms of conflict with Iran have shifted “before it is too late”.
“From now on, any attack against Iran’s interests and security will receive a faster, heavier and more painful response,” he said in a speech published on his Telegram channel.
The newest exchange of attacks, set off by US raids last week, unfolds against a deadlock in the six-month war between the two countries.
Iran has kept a tight grip on the Strait of Hormuz, while the United States maintains what Iran describes as a counter-blockade targeting Iranian ports.
At the same time, Washington has pressed ahead with economic pressure on Tehran, rolling out sanctions on entities with financial ties to the Islamic republic as it seeks to squeeze Iran’s economy and compel it to yield.
In a statement carried by Iranian state television, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—the ideological arm of Iran’s military—said today that it “attacked an American military unmanned surface vessel” that was attempting to enter the strait.
Hours earlier, the IRGC said its 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 also cautioned ships against using routes that have not been approved for transit.
On Saturday, US Central Command (CENTCOM), which oversees American military operations in the region, said it struck tankers linked to the Iranian Guards, after accusing the IRGC of firing unsuccessfully at American warships.
Central Command said that no American personnel were harmed in the strikes yesterday
“Following Iran’s failed attacks, CENTCOM permanently disabled the IRGC crude oil carriers M/T Downy off the coast of Kharg Island and M/T Stark 1 near Jask,” it said.
“American forces also completely destroyed the unladen crude oil carrier M/T Kylo … in the Gulf of Oman, striking the vessel in multiple critical locations to render it inoperable after the crew was directed to abandon ship,” he said.
Footage published by CENTCOM appeared to show large fireballs and thick flames rising after projectiles hit the ships.
CENTCOM said the three vessels were “part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network that funds the IRGC and its regional proxies”.
‘Higher economic cost’
The IRGC, for its part, claimed that the two US warships it targeted had been “forced to retreat” after “suffering damage”. CENTCOM disputed that account, saying the ships successfully evaded Iranian attacks.
After the operation, CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper said: “If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost – taking out three of yours.”
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the US strikes on oil tankers, denouncing them as “illegal and aggressive actions”.
An Iranian state TV correspondent reporting from Jask in the southern province of Hormozgan said one of the tankers was empty while a second tanker was carrying oil.
The same report said crew members were brought to shore in lifeboats.
Another state TV correspondent on Kharg Island said the strike there resulted in no casualties.
Iran’s Khatam-al Anbiya central military command warned that if the US continued its attacks, then Tehran’s retaliation against US warships would be “more severe than before, and there is a possibility of their expansion”.
In Washington, the administration of US President Donald Trump has sought to play down the significance of the six-month conflict, which has grown increasingly unpopular domestically as midterm elections draw closer.
US Vice President JD Vance went so far as to say that he “wouldn’t call it a war”.
Mr Trump echoed that assessment on Friday, describing the war as “small potatoes” for Washington.
Earlier this week, Mr Rezaei warned that Iran had adopted a “new strategy” toward Washington that “will shatter your foundations”.
The United States has been intensifying pressure on Tehran as it tries to wrestle control of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical corridor through which one-fifth of world oil supplies previously flowed.
A fragile ceasefire between the two sides collapsed in July after attacks on commercial ships in the strategic waterway.
In recent weeks, Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened to claim sovereignty over the strait, including posting a map depicting it as “new US territory”.
Mr Vance has insisted the US will not reopen talks with Iran until it ends attacks on commercial shipping in Hormuz.
