Iran to announce ‘restricted zone’ near Strait of Hormuz as tensions simmer

Iran is set to announce a “restricted zone” close to the Strait of Hormuz following recent exchanges of fire between the U.S. and the Middle Eastern country.

According to a Sunday report by Press TV , an Iranian state media outlet, a new restricted zone was set to be declared near the strait within the next few days, Iran’s top security official said. All vessels coming into the zone that are not cooperating with the Iranians will be put on a sanctions list.

Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Major Gen. Mohsen Rezaei said Sunday night on television that the zone “will begin from the US Navy’s blockade line and extend into parts of the Persian Gulf,” per Press TV.

The Iran war just stretched past the six-month mark, with the conflict straining U.S. relations with historic allies, driving up oil and gas prices amid the Strait of Hormuz’s closure and proving unpopular with the American public in recent polling.

Press TV also reported Sunday that Iran said that it had attacked an American ship in the strait . A U.S. military vessel, which was remotely-operated, was attacked by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), per the military group.

According to a statement from the IRGC, the vessel had been trying to go into a restricted portion of the strait, Press TV reported.

“With the grace and favor of Almighty God, every desperate move by the enemy is being closely monitored by brave, self-sacrificing IRGC Navy forces and will be met with a decisive attack,” the IRGC said in its Sunday statement, per Press TV.

The attack was carried out in retaliation for the U.S. military conducting strikes against multiple Iranian crude oil carriers because of “multiple unprovoked” attacks from Iran on two American warships, U.S. Central Command said.