“If a vessel enters that area without coordination, it will be subject to our sanctions… It means, for example, that if it later wants to come and use the Strait of Hormuz, if it wants to receive services somewhere, such as insurance or other related services, we will refrain from providing those services,” he added.
The announcement comes after Iran reported “significant progress” with Oman, both coastal states on Hormuz, in discussions of a temporary shipping route through the strait.
Iranian forces have restricted traffic through Hormuz, a vital energy conduit, since the start of the war with the United States on February 28. The US has imposed a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.
Tehran has required vessels to seek permission to transit, insisting there will be no return to the pre-war system of unrestricted navigation.
On Tuesday, Iranian forces said they have struck 10 vessels which attempted to cross Hormuz without coordination.
US President Donald Trump said in recent days that American forces have helped facilitate the passage of vessels through the strait, “averaging 30 ships a night”.
Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei said Sunday that the US tries each night to help five or six ships through, “and usually these ships get hit”.
During his interview on Wednesday, Mohebi said the war with the United States could end if Washington halts “renewed threats, withdraw the Israeli regime’s army from Lebanon and end the blockade of Yemen,” in reference to Saudi Arabia’s decade-long restrictions on ports and airports run by Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
He added the US should also “release $24 billion in Iran’s frozen assets, and refrain from any interference in the country’s nuclear and missile capabilities”. – AFP
