Webdesk: Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) says a new maritime restricted zone will extend from the Iranian port of Chabahar into parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, with precise coordinates to be announced later.
The announcement follows an earlier warning by Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, that Tehran would establish a restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz. Iran says ships entering the new area will face restrictions and could be placed on an Iranian sanctions list.
The move comes amid a sharp escalation between Iran and the United States (US). US Central Command said its forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers on September 8 after the IRGC targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice. CENTCOM said the warship evaded both attacks and that no American personnel were injured.
Iran subsequently claimed that its forces had attacked two US vessels and eight oil tankers, along with other vessels attempting to pass through what Tehran described as a restricted and unsafe area.
CENTCOM rejected the claim that any US Navy warship had been hit, saying all Iranian attempts to strike American warships had failed.
Commercial shipping has also come under growing pressure. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that several merchant vessels in the northern Gulf and Gulf of Oman had suffered disabling fire amid ongoing military activity. It said casualties and environmental damage had not been confirmed and investigations were continuing.
In a separate incident, the Panama flagged oil tanker New Andros, carrying about two million barrels of Iraqi fuel oil, was struck by a drone in Iraqi territorial waters and caught fire. All 22 crew members were reported safe.
The expansion of the restricted zone could further complicate commercial navigation well beyond the Strait of Hormuz. The Gulf of Oman connects the Strait with the Arabian Sea, making any sustained disruption there potentially significant for international shipping and energy supplies.
The immediate concern is therefore no longer limited to competing claims about individual attacks. It is whether the confrontation is developing into a wider maritime crisis stretching from the Gulf to the Arabian Sea.
