Iran says it plans to establish a new restricted zone around the Strait of Hormuz, a global energy chokepoint, after Tehran and Washington traded attacks on ships in the crucial waterway in what experts called a “dangerous escalation”.
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experts → say → what
The two sides have been engaged in on-and-off attacks since a 60-day memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed on June 17, expired last month.
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memorandum → engage → June
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conflict → give → war
touts military response as US maintains blockade, hits tankers
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US → tout → tankers
The latest escalation started after Iran targeted US warships patrolling and escorting oil tankers trying to evade the Tehran-imposed blockade of the strait.
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Iran → start → strait
Meanwhile, a US naval blockade of the Iranian ports has drastically restricted its oil and other trade.
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blockade → restrict → trade
The MoU, which had ended the months-long military hostility, collapsed after 60 days due to disputes over who had ultimate control over the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has used as leverage in the war against the United States.
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Iran → end → States
Oil tankers have become the latest targets in the US-Israel war on Iran, with Tehran repeatedly warning vessels against using unauthorised routes through the Strait of Hormuz amid reports that a growing number of oil tankers are passing through the waterway.
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number → become → waterway
Prior to the start of the war, 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies flowed through the strait.
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percent → flow → strait
So, where exactly will Iran’s proposed zone be, what restrictions will apply, and how does Tehran intend to enforce this?
What did Iran say about the restrictive zone?
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Iran → propose → zone
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said the zone would be announced in the coming days.
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zone → say → days
“This zone will start from the US Navy’s blockade line and include areas of the Persian Gulf,” he said, according to Iranian state media.
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he → start → media
“Any ship entering this new zone will be placed on the sanctions list [of Iran].”
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ship → enter → Iran
Rezaei said the zone would “begin from the line of the US naval blockade, extend toward the Strait of Hormuz, and from this side continue into the Persian Gulf”.
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zone → say → Gulf
However, Tehran has provided few details about the zone’s precise boundaries or what being placed on its sanctions list would mean for vessels entering it.
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placed → provide → it
Rezaei said new maps detailing routes, worked on in conjunction with Oman for the Hormuz Strait, would also be approved soon.
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maps → say → Strait
“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,” he added.
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he → lie → days
“We will only commit to the Strait of Hormuz being open when they [the Americans] stop the sabotage, threats and attacks on Iran.”
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they → commit → Iran
The announcement comes after Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said late last month that Iran and Oman had agreed on a temporary maritime route for ships travelling through the Strait of Hormuz, whose entry “would be through our territorial waters, and part of the exit route would also be through our territorial waters”.
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part → come → waters
How have the US and the world reacted?
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US → react → ?
However, on Sunday, Washington rejected an Iranian claim reported in local media that a US vessel had attempted to enter an area Tehran considers restricted and was attacked.
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Tehran → reject → area
US Central Command (CENTCOM) spokesperson Captain Tim Hawkins called the Iranian account “a total lie”.
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Hawkins → call → account
The alleged attack comes days after Washington targeted three Iranian oil tankers and Tehran hit tankers and fired a ballistic missile towards US warships patrolling near the Strait of Hormuz.
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Tehran → allege → Hormuz
Doesn’t Iran already prescribe a route for ships through Hormuz?
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Iran → prescribe → Hormuz
Iran is already demanding that vessels use routes it approves through the strait.
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it → demand → strait
Iran first published a map of its approved navigation routes in April, directing vessels much closer to the Iranian coastline than they travelled before the war.
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they → publish → war
The route currently authorised by it follows a corridor along Iran’s coast.
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route → authorise → coast
But Iran’s attempt to control navigation has been challenged by a separate route closer to Oman.
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attempt → control → Oman
In June, Oman, working with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), a United Nations agency that oversees shipping at sea, laid out a southern corridor intended to restore safe navigation through the strait.
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that → work → strait
A Liberian-flagged tanker, the Stoic Warrior, subsequently used a route that took it close to the coasts of the United Arab Emirates and Oman before passing around the Musandam Peninsula, an Omani exclave.
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that → flag → Peninsula
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) objected to it, declaring that “the only authorised route” was the one announced by Iran and warning that vessels crossing without its permission would be “unacceptable and extremely dangerous”.
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vessels → object → permission
Following the 14-point MoU signed in June in the Swiss city of Geneva, traffic in the strait had picked up.
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traffic → follow → strait
But the resumption of attacks has severely limited commercial shipping in and around the key waterway.
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resumption → limit → waterway
Under the MoU, the US agreed to end its naval blockade within 30 days, while Iran pledged to clear mines from the Strait of Hormuz and allow ships to pass “with no charge” for 60 days.
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ships → agree → days
Traffic is still getting through, but at substantially reduced levels.
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Traffic → get → levels
Before the conflict, about 20 million barrels of crude oil per day flowed through the waterway.
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barrels → flow → waterway
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, speaking to media on Sunday, said current transits were averaging more than nine million barrels of oil per day.
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transits → speak → day
When pipelines bypassing the strait are included, Wright said flows were probably at “two-thirds or more of pre-conflict flows”.
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flows → bypass → flows
“So Iranians are still causing trouble, but the United States Navy is winning that battle,” he said.
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he → cause → battle
Bolstering US claims was the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre, which on Sunday said 59 ships passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the previous 48 hours.
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ships → bolster → hours
…and 19 more, not listed.
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