Iran says it will manage the strait alone if Oman does not cooperate

US insists on free transit passage through international waterways

Ships anchored near the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran, on June 21 (local time). [Reuters]
Ships anchored near the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran, on June 21 (local time). [Reuters]

By Seo Ji-yeon, The Herald Business

A ceasefire memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran is again under strain, as the two sides clash over how to interpret provisions governing passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has warned it will block vessels that stray from routes it designates, while the US is pushing back by insisting on the right of free transit passage through international waterways.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Monday, according to Iranian state television, that if Oman is unwilling to cooperate in establishing a management framework for the Strait of Hormuz, Iran will proceed with the effort on its own.

He said Iran had confirmed Tuesday that Oman was prepared to move forward, and added that Iranian and Omani experts would begin related talks within the coming days.

Gharibabadi said the redrawing of shipping lanes inside the strait had also been placed on the formal agenda. "We have conveyed to the Omani side that the transit routes through the Strait of Hormuz need to be redesignated," he said, adding that technical discussions on the matter would follow.

He went on to say that Iran "opposes and will block the passage of vessels using routes inside the Strait of Hormuz that Iran has not designated."

At the center of the dispute is Article 5 of the ceasefire MOU recently signed by the US and Iran. The provision is understood to state that "Iran will take all possible measures to ensure the safe passage of commercial vessels."

Iran argues that this language grants it authority to manage the strait. Tehran has also not ruled out imposing fees on vessels transiting the strait — framed as a service charge — once the 60-day follow-on negotiations with the US conclude.

Iran is also insisting that merchant ships use routes it designates rather than the Omani coastal route backed by the United States. The move is widely seen as an attempt to use the Strait of Hormuz as leverage in nuclear and sanctions-relief negotiations.

The US, by contrast, maintains that free transit passage through international waterways such as the Strait of Hormuz must be guaranteed under customary international law and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. No single country, Washington argues, can unilaterally designate shipping lanes or restrict vessel passage.


sjy@heraldcorp.com