Iran warned on Monday that it could target U.S. oil and gas interests in the Gulf if the U.S. launches any new attacks on its assets. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s warning that “if Iran shoots at U.S. ships, we will destroy (and sink) their oil tankers,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said: “It’s simple: the oil and gas production chain here is sprawling, accessible, and exposed. American oil and gas companies across these waters and facilities share that exposure.” “Strike our assets and you get struck,” he added.
Mohsen Rezaei, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary, told Iranian state TV on Sunday that Tehran has concluded “new strategies must be adopted in the war, in negotiations, and in confronting the blockade.” Among the measures planned is a new “exclusion zone” in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. The zone would begin at the blockade line, extend through the Strait of Hormuz, and continue into the Persian Gulf, Rezaei said. Vessels entering the zone to transit the Strait would be placed on an Iranian sanctions list.
The latest flare-up began Saturday, when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) attacked U.S. warships in the region. The U.S. responded by striking three Iranian oil tankers, including one near Kharg Island, Iran’s main oil export hub. The U.S. and Iran have for the past week exchanged a flurry of attacks, ending a brief respite in active hostilities.
Oil prices reached near six-week highs on Monday as commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments flowed before the war, has fallen sharply. Diplomatic efforts between the U.S. and Iran have stalled. The two countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on June 17, agreeing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and engage in technical talks to end the war.
But the truce was short-lived. After a commercial vessel was struck in the Strait in late June, the U.S. attacked Iranian missile storage and radar sites, prompting Iran to retaliate against U.S. military installations in the region. Intermittent attacks continued in July, and fighting resumed in late August after a brief, informal pause.
The Trump Administration has said it is investigating a U.S. strike last week on a family compound in southern Iran where a wedding celebration was underway, killing at least five people and wounding more than 60, according to Iranian state media. No new formal negotiations have been announced since the MOU’s 60-day deadline expired on Aug. 17. Although some of Iran’s top officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian, have signaled a willingness to return to the MOU and resume talks with the U.S., the two countries’ positions remain far apart.
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