Iran's Revolutionary Guard says new maritime control zone extends into Arabian Sea

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the maritime control zone it has set up covering the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman will expand to include parts of the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebi said Wednesday (local time) that the newly designated maritime control zone will begin in waters near Chabahar, a key port city in southeastern Iran. It will extend to cover parts of the Sea of Oman and the Arabian Sea, according to Iran's semi-official Fars News Agency, Yonhap reported.

The exact maritime coordinates that will directly restrict vessel navigation will be announced later, Mohebi said.

He warned that any vessel that breaches the control zone even once will face a severe penalty. It will be permanently denied access to all maritime and insurance services the next time it attempts to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

He also said any vessel that passes through the control zone will immediately lose access to services essential to maritime operations, including shipping, insurance and various forms of port support.

Also on Wednesday, Iran strongly condemned a US military attack on its oil tankers.

In a statement, Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said "US terrorist forces carried out an aggressive attack targeting several Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday evening." The ministry called the US action in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman "a clear violation of the UN Charter and international law," Yonhap reported.

The ministry also said Iran had invoked its "inherent right of legitimate self-defense" under the UN Charter to carry out a retaliatory operation. It added that it "carried out defensive strikes against US military bases and facilities in Jordan, which have served as a staging ground for military provocations against Iran, as well as against numerous US invading vessels."

CENTCOM said Tuesday that it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers in response to an attack by Iran's Revolutionary Guard on a US warship.

CENTCOM said the move was retaliation for two ballistic missile attacks Iran had launched against US warships over the previous two days.