Iran's newly formed Persian Gulf Strait Authority has declared a controlled maritime zone across the Strait of Hormuz, requiring all transit vessels to seek coordination and authorisation before passing through. Summary:Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority announced a controlled maritime zone covering the Strait of HormuzThe zone runs from Kuh-e Mobarak in Iran to southern Fujairah in the UAE at the eastern entrance, to the tip of Qeshm Island in Iran across to Umm Al Quwain in the UAE at the western entranceAll vessels seeking to transit the strait must coordinate with and obtain authorisation from the PGSAThe defined zone extends into waters that the UAE and Oman regard as falling within their own jurisdictionsIran has unilaterally declared a controlled maritime zone across the Strait of Hormuz, with its newly established Persian Gulf Strait Authority asserting regulatory oversight of one of the world's most critical energy chokepoints and requiring all passing vessels to seek prior coordination and authorisation.The authority, announced via a post on X, defined the zone's boundaries in precise terms: from the line connecting Kuh-e Mobarak in Iran to southern Fujairah in the UAE at the strait's eastern entrance, across to the line connecting the tip of Qeshm Island in Iran with Umm Al Quwain in the UAE at the western entrance. Framed as a management and regulatory function, the declaration is anything but routine. The geographic coordinates Iran has chosen extend the claimed zone into waters that the UAE and Oman consider their own, making this as much a sovereignty provocation as a shipping notice.The Strait of Hormuz carries an estimated one fifth of the world's oil supply, and any credible assertion of Iranian control over transit rights carries immediate implications for energy markets, insurance underwriters and the naval forces that have long operated in the region on the assumption of freedom of navigation. The move arrives against an already elevated geopolitical backdrop in the Gulf, with tensions between Iran and Western powers remaining acute.Whether the PGSA designation carries any practical enforcement weight in the near term is an open question, but the intent signalled by the declaration is hard to misread. By framing transit as something that requires Iranian authorisation, Tehran is making a claim on the strait that goes well beyond anything previously formalised, and doing so through an institution created specifically for the purpose.Reactions from the UAE, Oman and the United States have not yet been formally issued, but they are unlikely to be warm.---Any assertion of Iranian regulatory authority over Hormuz transit will be read by energy markets as a direct threat to the roughly 20% of global oil supply that passes through the strait. The encroachment into what Iran's neighbours regard as their own waters adds a sovereignty dimension that raises the diplomatic temperature well beyond a standard navigation dispute. If major shipping operators or their insurers treat the PGSA designation as actionable, freight and war risk premiums on Gulf cargoes could move sharply. The absence of any immediate response from the UAE, Oman or the US Fifth Fleet will be watched closely; silence will not last long. This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.