The spokesperson for Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters said on April 13 that security in the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman must be collective, warning that any threat to Iranian ports would endanger all regional ports, in remarks carried by Tasnim News Agency amid a US move to tighten maritime restrictions following the collapse of Iran-US talks in Islamabad.

The statement shows a sharper, more operational posture from Tehran since the outbreak of the Israel-US war against Iran on February 28, with authorities signalling a shift from conditional warnings to enforceable controls over shipping lanes, notably the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Brigadier General Ebrahim Zolfighari said Iran’s armed forces would “resolutely” safeguard territorial waters and exercise sovereignty as a “natural and legal duty”.

He reiterated that vessels deemed “enemy-affiliated” would be barred from transiting Hormuz, while other ships could pass subject to compliance with Iranian regulations.

He added that Tehran plans to establish a “permanent mechanism” to monitor and control the waterway even after the conflict subsides, pointing to what officials describe as sustained threats to national security.

In a direct rebuke of Washington, the statement characterised US restrictions on maritime movement as “illegal” and tantamount to “piracy”, after President Donald Trump said the United States would begin enforcing a blockade on vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports from April 13.

Zolfighari framed regional maritime security as indivisible. “If the security of Iran’s ports is undermined, no port in these waters will remain safe,” he said, adding that security in the Gulf and the Sea of Oman is “for everyone or for no one”.