'Prohibited zone' spans large parts: Iran

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Wednesday that a new "prohibited zone" outside the Strait of Hormuz would cover parts of the Gulf of Oman and beyond, as fresh tit-for-tat strikes between the United States and Iran have already escalated tensions across the Middle East waters.

IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi said: "It approximately starts from the direction of Chabahar, covering part of the Sea of Oman and another part of the Arabian Sea … If a vessel enters that area without coordination, it will be subject to our sanctions."

The IRGC also said on Wednesday that the conflict with the US could end if Washington stopped threatening the Islamic republic and met Tehran's conditions, including regarding its nuclear program.

The latest development from the IRGC came as Iran and the US hit tankers in a big wave of attacks on shipping on Tuesday.

The US Central Command, or CENTCOM, said in a statement on Tuesday that its forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after the IRGC targeted a US Navy warship with ballistic missiles twice over the past two days.

"The US warship successfully evaded the attempted Iranian attacks and continued to patrol regional waters. No American personnel were harmed," said CENTCOM.

CENTCOM also wrote that the M/T Riesco sank in the Gulf of Oman on Tuesday, after being destroyed by CENTCOM forces in response to attempted IRGC attacks on a US Navy warship.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned on Tuesday that Washington will continue to target Iranian oil tankers in response to ongoing attacks on US naval ships, Fox News reported.

Jordan came under a missile attack from Iranian territory, the Jordan News Agency reported on Wednesday, citing a spokesperson for Jordan's military.

The spokesperson said that Jordanian air defense systems engaged 20 ballistic missiles fired toward Jordanian territory, successfully intercepting and destroying 18 of them. Two missiles fell in unpopulated areas. No casualties were recorded.

The IRGC claimed it launched a retaliatory operation against the US al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan with heavy missile strikes, using solid — and liquid-fuel ballistic missiles, Iran's Mehr News reported.

As fresh tensions flare up, Brent oil, the international benchmark, jumped above $100 a barrel on Wednesday for the first time since the end of July.

In a post on X on Tuesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran "has always opposed war and has considered the preservation of the people's interests and regional security to lie in refraining from igniting conflict".

Abdul Wahed Jalal Nori, a lecturer in the Department of Fundamental and Inter-Disciplinary Studies at the International Islamic University Malaysia, noted that "when oil tankers, shipping lanes and regional bases become bargaining chips, this is no longer simply pressure on Tehran".

"It is a self-perpetuating cycle in which 'deterrence' can gradually become a substitute for diplomacy, while the real cost is ultimately transferred to regional stability and the global economy," he told China Daily.

Agencies contributed to this story.