Middle East War: Iran Moves to Change Hormuz Shipping Corridor as Battle With US Escalates
- Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned that American oil and gas companies in the region share the same exposure as Iranian assets
- Iran announced plans to declare a new restricted maritime zone in the Gulf, with ships entering the area facing Iranian sanctions
- Oil prices climbed to six-week highs after the US struck three Iranian tankers on Saturday, with Brent crude reaching $97.93 a barrel
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Iran has warned the United States that American oil and gas facilities in the Gulf region will face retaliation if Washington launches further strikes on Iranian assets, escalating an already volatile confrontation between the two countries.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf issued the warning on Monday, saying the energy production infrastructure across the region was "sprawling, accessible, and exposed" and that US oil and gas companies operating around those waters and facilities were equally at risk.
Source: UGC
"Strike our assets and you get struck. We've already proven it. Ask the bases that are no longer viable," Qalibaf wrote on X, pointing to previous Iranian attacks on US military installations during the conflict.
New restricted zone planned for gulf
The warning came a day after senior Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei said Tehran would announce a new restricted maritime zone in the Gulf within days. Rezaei said the zone would begin where the US naval blockade of Iran ends and stretch into areas of the Gulf, and any vessel entering it would be placed on an Iranian sanctions list.
He added that Iran would only guarantee the Strait of Hormuz remained open once the US stopped what he described as "sabotage, threats and attacks on Iran."
The strait, through which roughly a fifth of global oil and gas shipments passed before the conflict began in February, has seen traffic slow significantly.
Shipping data on Monday, September 7, showed an average of just 10 commodity vessels transiting the strait per day over the previous 10 days, the lowest figure since May.
Strikes resume after ceasefire collapse
The exchange of strikes at the weekend marked a resumption of hostilities following the breakdown of a ceasefire deal reached in June. US Central Command said American forces struck three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, including one off Kharg Island, Iran's main oil export hub.
The strikes followed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps attacks on US warships in the region.
Brent crude futures briefly rose to $97.93 a barrel on Monday, the highest since July 24, before pulling back to $96.19. The rise in fuel prices has weighed on US President Donald Trump's approval ratings as his Republican Party prepares for November's congressional elections.
US President Trump launched what he called "Operation Epic Fury" in February with the stated goals of dismantling Iran's nuclear programme, stopping Tehran from attacking its neighbours, and creating conditions for Iranians to remove their own leadership. None of those aims have been achieved, and Iran's clerical leadership remains in power.
The conflict has also hit Gulf Arab states. The UAE, which has faced Iranian missile strikes and attacks on its tankers in the strait, said on Monday it was developing alternative export routes to ensure its energy trade was not disrupted by the war. UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said the country would not allow its economic interests to be "held hostage" to the conflict.
US military strikes 3 Iran-linked oil tankers
Previously, Legit.ng reported that the United States military struck three oil tankers linked to Iran after Tehran allegedly targeted two American warships operating in the region, marking a sharp escalation between the two countries.
US Central Command (Centcom) announced on Saturday that it had "permanently disabled" two tankers, including one near Kharg Island, and "completely destroyed" a third vessel in the Gulf of Oman.
Source: Legit.ng
