Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the restricted area would begin at what Tehran calls the US Navy’s blockade line and extend into parts of the Gulf. He warned that vessels entering the zone would be placed on an Iranian sanctions list, but did not specify its boundaries, enforcement mechanism or the consequences for ships that breached the restriction.
Rezaei, speaking on state television on Sunday, also said maps for a new international corridor through the Strait of Hormuz had been agreed with Oman and were expected to be signed in the coming days. He said the route would pass through Iranian and Omani waters and that Iran would have a management role over it.
No detailed chart of the proposed corridor has been released, and Omani authorities had not publicly set out terms of the agreement by Monday. Rezaei gave no date for the route to become operational and did not explain how it would interact with internationally recognised traffic arrangements or affect commercial vessels transiting between the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
The announcement adds another layer of uncertainty for shipowners, energy traders and insurers already dealing with sharply reduced traffic and heightened security risks around Hormuz. Rezaei said Tehran would commit to keeping the strait open only when the United States stopped what he described as sabotage, threats and attacks against Iran.
His comments followed a renewed exchange of attacks involving shipping and naval forces over the weekend. The United States said its forces struck three Iranian oil tankers, while Iran said it had attacked US warships in the region. Washington has disputed some Iranian accounts of naval engagements, underscoring the difficulty of independently verifying battlefield claims around the waterway.
Commercial flows remain well below levels seen before the conflict. The US Energy Information Administration estimated that crude oil and petroleum liquids moving through Hormuz averaged 4.9 million barrels a day in the second quarter of 2026, down from 21.6 million barrels a day in the final quarter of 2025. Its August outlook assumed severe transit constraints would persist through August before flows began increasing gradually in September.
The International Maritime Organization has also recorded continued disruption to shipping patterns. Maritime authorities have advised masters and operators to conduct rigorous voyage planning and security assessments because of mines, naval activity and the risk of attacks. A June advisory issued through the Joint Maritime Information Center identified a southern transit route along Omani territorial waters as a recommended passage after mine-clearance assessments.
That route emerged as one of several efforts to maintain movement through Hormuz after months of disruption. Iran has separately directed vessels towards routes closer to its coastline, while Oman and international maritime bodies have worked on safer southern passages. Tehran has challenged navigation arrangements it does not approve, increasing uncertainty over which corridors commercial operators can use without facing interference.
The Strait of Hormuz connects the Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea and remains indispensable to energy trade despite efforts by Gulf producers to expand bypass pipelines and alternative export routes. Before the conflict, roughly one-fifth of global petroleum liquids consumption passed through the waterway, making changes to navigation rules immediately significant for oil markets.
Oil prices reflected the renewed tension on Monday. Brent crude settled above $97 a barrel, its highest level in about six weeks, as traders weighed the risk that additional restrictions or attacks could further reduce Gulf exports. Market movements have been particularly sensitive to Hormuz developments because alternative transport capacity cannot replace all volumes normally shipped through the strait.
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