Iran announces 'exclusion zone' near Strait of Hormuz as US-Iran tensions escalate

Mohsen Rezaei, Iran's newly appointed head of the Supreme National Security Council, announced on Sunday that Tehran would establish an exclusion zone near the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days or weeks. Any vessel attempting to pass through the waterway would be identified and placed on Iran's sanctions list, he told the state broadcaster. The zone would begin at the edge of the US naval blockade, extend toward Hormuz, and continue into the Persian Gulf—though Rezaei offered no precise coordinates, and it remains unclear exactly where Iran believes that blockade line sits.

The announcement came a day after American forces struck three Iranian oil tankers in retaliation for Tehran's launch of ballistic missiles at US warships. That exchange marked a sharp turn after a month of relative quiet. The fighting had resumed a week earlier, with both sides resuming strikes near the strait and along Iran's southern coast. At least five people died in a US bombardment that week; the strike hit a school, returning attention to a site damaged in the war's opening salvos on February 28.

The US maintains a naval presence of more than twenty warships enforcing a blockade aimed at Iranian ports and preventing Tehran from exporting oil. As of Sunday, that blockade had redirected ninety-two commercial vessels and disabled three. The Trump administration appears to be pursuing a two-track strategy: responding militarily to attacks on shipping while targeting foreign financial institutions that process Iran's money. Rezaei's comments suggest Tehran intends to use control of the strait as leverage, having already attacked some ships attempting passage. Iran also claimed on Sunday that it had struck an unmanned US vessel trying to enter the waterway—a claim the US military flatly rejected.

The collapse of negotiations between Washington and Tehran hangs over the escalation. A memorandum of understanding signed in mid-June began unraveling within days as each side accused the other of violations. Rezaei expressed frustration not only with the US but with the mediators—Pakistan, Qatar, and Oman—who had stepped in to broker the deal. He said Iran had believed those countries would enforce the agreement if either party broke it. "We are now pursuing diplomacy with guarantees," he said, signaling a harder line going forward.

The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world's most critical chokepoints for energy. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Sunday that nine million barrels of oil per day are currently passing through, a figure that appeared to exceed recent average flows according to independent tracking sources. With oil also moving through regional pipelines, Wright estimated that current flows represent roughly two-thirds or more of preconflict levels. Those flows depend entirely on the US Navy's presence to escort tankers and shield them from Iranian attack. Wright said he expected other countries would eventually contribute to the Navy's protection mission.

Iran's leadership, meanwhile, claims the blockade and sanctions have had minimal effect. Rezaei stated that Tehran is selling one to one and a half million barrels daily, suggesting oil production and trade continue as normal. That assertion sits in tension with the visible impact of the US blockade and the economic pressure driving Iran's hard-line new senior leaders to signal they will endure years more of sanctions rather than capitulate. Iran has spent decades learning to circumvent sanctions; the current blockade of its ports presents a different challenge, but Tehran appears determined to find workarounds and maintain some flow of revenue. What remains unclear is whether that determination can survive the military escalation now underway, or whether the exclusion zone Rezaei announced will become another flashpoint in a conflict with no visible end.