In an official statement, the IRGC said it has declared a new maritime control area in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
According to the statement, the new zone of “smart control” by the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz is defined as follows:
In the south: the line between Mount Mobarak in Iran and south of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates; In the west: the line between the end of Qeshm Island in Iran and Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates.
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump said the US will “help free up” ships stuck in the Strait of Hormuz from Monday, suggesting that his administration will break Iran’s blockade of the strategic waterway.
Trump claimed that he was launching the campaign – dubbed Project Freedom – at the request of countries whose vessels are stranded in the strait, whom he referred to as “neutral and innocent bystanders”.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a statement that it would begin supporting merchant vessels “seeking to freely transit” the strait from Monday.
Meanwhile, Commander of Iran’s Khatam al-Anbia Central Headquarters Major General Ali Abdollahi warned that any foreign military force, particularly the US, will come under attack if it attempts to approach or enter the Strait of Hormuz.
“We would preserve and firmly manage the security of the Strait of Hormuz with full capability, advising all commercial vessels and oil tankers to refrain from any attempt to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without coordination with the Armed Forces (of Iran) stationed there in order not to endanger their security,” the top general stated.
On February 28, the United States and the Israeli regime launched an unprovoked war of aggression against Iran, during which then Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and several senior military officials were martyred.
Iranian Armed Forces responded with weeks of missile and drone strikes targeting American and Israeli military positions in the occupied territories and the Persian Gulf region, inflicting heavy damages in 100 waves of counterattacks over a period of 40 days.
Iran’s retaliation also featured the country’s closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz to vessels belonging to enemies and their allies.
The Islamic Republic then subjected the waterway to further restrictions, conditioning passage of vessels to their securing permission from relevant Iranian authorities. The latter move came after the US announced continuation of an illegal blockade it has been trying to impose on Iranian vessels and ports.