In international law, Tehran has every right to close the strait of Hormuz to nations with which it is in armed conflict. Two vital points:

1) States who permit attacks on Iran to be launched on Iraq from their territory can be blocked

2) Iran can block neutral ships from trading with states with which it is in conflict.

Plainly UK ships can be blocked under 1). But it is also undeniable that Gulf states have permitted aattacks to be launched from their territory. A 10 Warthog attack jets have been routinely used against Iranian ships and were used in the extraordinary operation at the weekend involving special forces on the ground in Iran.

(If you believe that was a pilot rescue I have a bridge to sell you).

Multiple types of helicopter have also been used. The 5th fleet having run away well into the Indian ocean, these short range aircraft can only be operating out of the Gulf states.

Himars short range missiles were also used against Kharg Island, again this has to be from the Gulf states.

Iran has the right therefore to close the Strait of Hormuz to ships trading with those Gulf States that are hosting US forces attacking Iran. Which effectively means an almost complete closure of the straits.

The remaining legal obligation, from Article 34 of the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea, is to allow free passage to neutral vessels which are not trading with states with  which Iran is in armed conflict. That is not likely to be a large number of vessels.

A week ago I participated in a discussion on Al Jazeera in which I was able to make some of these points. I also ponted out the hypocrisy of the Western powers’ sudden interest in freedom of navigation, when they have been supporting or ignoring illegal blockades of Gaza, Cuba and Venezuela, and illegal action against the misnamed “Russian shadow fleet”.

———————————

My reporting and advocacy work has no source of finance at all other than your contributions to keep us going. We get nothing from any state nor any billionaire.

Anybody is welcome to republish and reuse, including in translation.

Because some people wish an alternative to PayPal, I have set up new methods of payment including a Patreon account and a Substack account if you wish to subscribe that way. The content will be the same as you get on this blog. Substack has the advantage of overcoming social media suppression by emailing you direct every time I post. You can if you wish subscribe free to Substack and use the email notifications as a trigger to come for this blog and read the articles for free. I am determined to maintain free access for those who cannot afford a subscription.

Subscriptions to keep this blog going are gratefully received.

Choose subscription amount from dropdown box:

PayPal address for one-off donations: [email protected]

Alternatively by bank transfer or standing order:

Account name
MURRAY CJ
Account number 3 2 1 5 0 9 6 2
Sort code 6 0 – 4 0 – 0 5
IBAN GB98NWBK60400532150962
BIC NWBKGB2L
Bank address NatWest, PO Box 414, 38 Strand, London, WC2H 5JB

Bitcoin: bc1q3sdm60rshynxtvfnkhhqjn83vk3e3nyw78cjx9
Ethereum/ERC-20: 0x764a6054783e86C321Cb8208442477d24834861a