IRAN, having driven out the United States, blocks shipping lanes in the Arabian Sea following the Strait of Hormuz

[Financial News] Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has abruptly announced a new "maritime restricted (control) zone" that extends beyond the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman to include parts of the Arabian Sea. With warnings that it will completely suspend insurance and port services for vessels passing through the zone without permission and permanently block access to the Strait of Hormuz in the future, tensions surrounding global crude oil shipping routes are reaching a peak.

According to foreign media outlets including the Arab news agency Al Jazeera and Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency on the 9th (local time), Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebi announced that the newly established maritime control zone will begin in the waters near Chabahar, a key port city on the Gulf of Oman coast in southeastern Iran, and expand to parts of the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. Specific coordinates of the controlled waters will be announced later.

Regarding the establishment of the control zone, a spokesperson for Mohebi warned, "The provision of essential maritime services, such as shipping, insurance, and various port support, will be immediately suspended for all vessels passing through this zone."
In particular, it explicitly revealed its intention to exercise exclusive control over the waters, stating, "Any vessel that violates regulations and passes through the control zone even once will face severe penalties, including the permanent blockage of access to all related maritime and insurance services, when passing through the Strait of Hormuz again in the future."
Earlier, Mohsen Rezaee, Secretary General of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), also warned in an interview with state television on the 6th that "a new control zone will be declared outside the Strait of Hormuz within a few days," adding that "all vessels entering without prior consultation will be subject to sanctions."

With this measure, Iran has further heightened pressure on the U.S. by demonstrating its military deterrence.
Spokesperson Mohebi claimed, "Prior to the Ramadan operation, there were about 30 to 40 U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, but today not a single one remains, and all U.S. vessels have retreated at least 400 kilometers from Iranian territorial waters." He added, "Iran has the capability to strike targets from a distance of 400 kilometers, and recently even targeted a U.S. aircraft carrier 500 kilometers away," stating, "If the enemy targets two or three of our targets, we are prepared to strike 20 of their targets."
In addition, Spokesperson Mohebi proposed the following conditions to resolve the current armed conflict and tensions: a complete cessation of hostilities, a ban on further threats, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, the lifting of the blockade on Yemen, the release of $24 billion (approximately 32 trillion won) worth of frozen Iranian assets, and a cessation of interference in Iran's nuclear and missile programs.


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