, Sept. 7 -- Iran will announce a restricted zone outside the Strait of Hormuz in the coming days and impose sanctions on ships that attempt to pass through the area without coordinating with Tehran, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei said.

In an interview with state-run IRIB TV aired Sunday night, Rezaei said the zone would stretch from the point where the US naval blockade begins toward the Strait of Hormuz and into the Persian Gulf on the opposite side of the waterway.

He said vessels entering the zone without prior coordination with Iran could face sanctions that would affect their insurance coverage and their ability to use the waterway in the future.

Rezaei described the planned move as part of a ...