Updated

Iran's top security official, Mohsen Rezaei, said Tehran will declare a restricted or 'prohibited' zone near the Strait of Hormuz within days, stretching from the edge of the US naval blockade into parts of the Gulf, with vessels entering it to be placed on Iran's sanctions list. The move follows weeks of naval tension after the US reimposed a blockade of Iranian ports in mid-July. Underscoring the scale of the standoff, US Central Command said it has 'redirected' 94 commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz since the blockade began, while disabling three and boarding two others. The figures illustrate the intensity of the ongoing naval confrontation as Iran prepares to impose its own countermeasures in the same waters.