Iran Threatens ‘New Exclusion Zone’ In Strait to Further Put Squeeze on Energy Prices

(AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

CBS News correspondent Tom Hanson reported on Monday that Iranian leaders are set to “declare a new exclusion zone” in the Strait of Hormuz, which threatens to further strangle the key energy waterway.

“We have a major development out of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s top security official says Tehran will declare a new exclusion zone, stretching from the American naval blockade, which spans from the tip of Oman to the southeastern corner of Iran, all the way to the Persian Gulf,” Hanson reported, adding:

So what does this all mean? Well, right now, both sides claim control of the strait, which is 21 miles wide. It was once the route for a fifth of the world’s oil. And expanding Iran’s exclusion zone could lead to more clashes, because it creates ambiguity for the ships trying to pass.

The stakes here could not be higher. We’ve already seen strikes and attempted strikes on ships crossing the disputed area. Iran says ships that cross without permission go on a sanctions list. The Revolutionary Guard, though, put it more bluntly this weekend, saying vessels on unauthorized routes will be targeted.

The map of the water here is complicated, and so are the boundaries. But what’s not complicated are the numbers: 10 ships on average are transiting the vital waterway per day, compared to 130 a day before the conflict. And the average price of regular gas in the US was $4.14 a gallon going into Labor Day weekend — a record high for the holiday.

Axios added some details on the cost the war has taken on average American families in a Monday report. “The war in Iran has now cost U.S. consumers $100 billion in higher energy prices, and the bill is rising another $1 million about every two minutes, per a real-time estimate from Brown University as of Monday morning,” noted the report, adding, “Brown’s Watson School says higher gasoline and diesel prices have cost the average U.S. household more than $760 since the war began Feb. 28.”

Watch the clip above via CBS News.

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