TEHRAN, Iran, May 12 (ANI): Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy has declared that the Strait of Hormuz has been “significantly expanded,” with the force now defining the waterway as a massive strategic corridor extending from the shores of Jask and Sirik to areas beyond Qeshm Island and Greater Tunb Island.
Mohammad Akbarzadeh, the political deputy of the IRGC Navy, told Tasnim News Agency that the Islamic Republic has fundamentally redefined the boundaries of this critical maritime gateway.
“[Earlier] the Strait of Hormuz was considered a limited area around islands like Hormuz and Hengam when defined, but today this perspective has changed,” Akbarzadeh said, according to reports.
Detailing the shift in maritime policy, he said the strait “has become larger and turned into a vast operational area.” He explained that the zone has expanded from its traditional width of 20 to 30 miles to a span of 200 to 300 miles, or roughly 500 kilometers, stretching from Jask and Sirik to beyond Qeshm and Greater Tunb, effectively “forming a complete crescent.”
According to Press TV, Rear Admiral Akbarzadeh reiterated Tuesday that the operational scope of the waterway has been entirely redefined. He emphasized that the previously narrow definition of the strait as a “limited area around islands such as Hormuz and Hengam” is no longer applicable to Iran’s current naval strategy.
“In other words, the Strait of Hormuz has grown larger and has turned into a vast operational area,” he said. The admiral further clarified that the new dimensions, reaching from Jask and Sirik to beyond Qeshm and Greater Tunb, constitute “a complete crescent” of military oversight.
Underlining Tehran’s position on regional security, Akbarzadeh said Iran’s military remains vigilant. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is carefully and authoritatively monitoring all regional movements and will not allow any kind of encroachment upon its waters and interests,” he warned.
The naval official also offered assurances regarding the protection of Iranian sovereignty, according to Mehr News Agency. “As it has been said before, ‘We will give blood, but we will not give up an inch of soil.’ The armed forces will defend the country’s territorial integrity and waters with all their might,” he said.
The assertive stance includes a new regulatory framework for maritime traffic. The IRGC has said the only secure passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be a corridor specified by the Islamic Republic, promising a “decisive response” against any ships that stray from those designated routes.
The moves come amid intense regional friction following what Tehran has called an “illegal war of aggression” launched by the United States and Israel earlier this year.
Since early March, Iran has restricted the passage of what it considers hostile shipping. Those measures were tightened last month in response to a US-led blockade on Iranian ports, a policy Tehran has denounced as equivalent to “maritime piracy.” (ANI)
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