Iran's foreign ministry on Monday warned South Korea against military deployment or involvement in US operations in the Strait of Hormuz, saying such a move would have "serious consequences".
On Friday, Seoul said it was considering "contributions" to US security efforts in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has largely controlled since the outbreak of war against the United States on February 28.
South Korea said it would consider the move provided that its own military readiness was not compromised, but added that no decision had been made.
On Monday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei warned South Korea against succumbing to what he called "US pressure and intimidation".
"Any military deployment or participation in operations by other countries in the Persian Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz can only be regarded as direct support for the party responsible for that aggression and will have serious consequences," he said in a post on X.
The Israeli army demanded early Monday that residents of Deir Zahrani in southern Lebanon leave a specific zone ahead of strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The army said that an explosive drone had been launched toward its forces and "Hezbollah's terrorist activity compels the IDF to act forcefully against it", without specifying whether any of its soldiers were wounded.
It warned in a message in Arabic that it was targeting a "Hezbollah terrorist facility" and said those who remained in the area were at risk.
Hezbollah's Al-Manar television channel later reported Israeli airstrikes on Deir Zahrani.
President Donald Trump wants US oil companies to produce more gasoline and bring down prices at the pump. But the refiners he is pressing face a problem they cannot easily solve: there is little spare refining capacity to unlock, and building a new refinery would take years and billions of dollars.
Trump has few immediate options as gasoline prices remain elevated and the war between the US and Iran continues to disrupt oil and fuel supplies around the world.
Trump met this week with executives from major oil and refining companies, including Chevron, Marathon Petroleum, Valero Energy and PBF Energy, urging them to increase refining capacity and boost fuel supplies.
But US refineries are already operating at exceptionally high rates. The bigger obstacle may be even harder to overcome: the price of crude oil itself, with WTI crude trading around $92 a barrel Monday, while global benchmark Brent was near $97.
Oil prices were mixed early on Monday (September 7), with global benchmark Brent crude holding near $97 a barrel as markets continued to assess the impact of the U.S.-Iran conflict and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz. As of 8:28 am Tokyo time on Sept. 7, the market snapshot showed: Brent crude up 0.43% to $96.69 , WTI Crude up 0.60% to $92.03, and Murban crude at $103.30, down -1.36%. Natural gas was down 1.5% to $2.929.
The Strait of Hormuz remains at the centre of the oil market's risk calculation. The waterway normally handles a huge share of global oil shipments, but tanker traffic has been severely disrupted amid the conflict.
Brent had already climbed above $96 last week after the latest escalation, while traders weighed the possibility of prolonged disruptions through Hormuz, as the market remained volatile. The premium could widen further if shipping restrictions become more severe or if attacks damage additional energy infrastructure.
Iran is preparing to expand its maritime restrictions beyond the Strait of Hormuz, escalating an already dangerous confrontation with the US and raising fresh concerns for commercial shipping and global oil supplies.
Iran hardliner Mohsen Rezaei, 71, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said on Sunday that Tehran would announce a new “restricted zone” in the Arabian Gulf in the coming days.
The zone would begin at the line of the US naval blockade and extend into parts of the Gulf. Ships entering the area would be placed on an Iranian sanctions list, he said.
Iran's expansion of its "restricted zone", announced by top security chief Mohsen Rezaei, follows an earlier Iranian campaign against vessels Tehran says have violated its navigation rules.
Iran has expanded its blacklist by 11 vessels, bringing the total to 56. The vessels include crude-oil tankers, LNG and LPG carriers and clean-product ships. Iran has also warned that vessels cooperating with blacklisted ships — including through ship-to-ship transfers — could face sanctions.
Meanwhile, the US blockade is also becoming more aggressive, as Central Command forces struck three Iranian oil tankers, according to US military officials.
The latest escalation marks a significant shift from economic pressure into direct confrontation over the movement of Iranian oil. The US says its naval presence is intended to enforce the blockade and protect maritime security. Washington has also argued that the Strait of Hormuz is a vital international waterway rather than an Iranian-controlled passage.
The new head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council on Sunday said Tehran plans to announce an "exclusion zone" outside the Strait of Hormuz aimed at vessels it believes are attempting to transit the waterway.
Mohsen Rezaei's comments to Iran's state broadcaster came with few details, a day after the U.S. struck three Iranian oil tankers in response to Tehran launching ballistic missiles at U.S. warships. Experts called the launches a dangerous escalation after Iran's previous attacks at sea targeted commercial shipping.
The new zone should be announced in the coming days and weeks and "will begin from the line of the U.S. naval blockade, extend toward the Strait of Hormuz, and from this side continue into the Persian Gulf," Rezaei said. "Any ship that enters this area with the intention of passing through the Strait of Hormuz and is identified will be placed on our sanctions list."
Iranian authorities on Sunday announced they were raising the price of petrol for heavier consumers, as the United States steps up sanctions seeking to isolate the country's economy.
Iran's quota system prices petrol in three tiers -- 1,500 tomans per litre for a consumer's first 60 litres in a given month, 3,000 tomans per litre for their next 50, and 5,000 tomans per litre after that. The toman is an informal unit equivalent to 10 Iranian rials.
On Sunday, government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said the price for the third tier would double to 10,000 tomans (about 4.5 US cents).
"The rate will increase to 10,000 toman rials from the morning of September 8," Mohajerani said in remarks carried by state media.
