Iran Can't Charge Tolls to 'Hijack' Strait of Hormuz, Foreign Sec Warns
UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper says Iran cannot unilaterally impose shipping tolls on the Strait of Hormuz, which is an international transit route governed by maritime law.
Iran cannot hijack the Strait of Hormuz and unilaterally impose shipping tolls on the critical international waterway, according to UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper. Speaking ahead of a major foreign policy speech, Cooper argued forcefully that the laws of the sea prevent Tehran from treating the strait as its own territorial waters.
"The starting point here is this is an international transit route. It's international shipping that uses this. This is part of the international law of the sea. This is a a route between the high seas; it is a trading route," Cooper said in a round of media interviews.
{{IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER}} The Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, is one of the world's most important maritime chokepoints, with an estimated 21 million barrels of oil passing through it each day. Iran, which controls the northern shore of the strait, has previously threatened to disrupt or tax shipping in the strategic waterway.
But Cooper argued that freedom of navigation principles enshrined in international law prevent Iran from treating the strait as its own domain. "Whether you talk about Dover or Gibraltar or other straits around the world, there may be territorial waters there, but there's also an international shipping route and an international transit route, which means that freedom of navigation principles apply and that countries cannot simply hijack those kinds of international transit routes and unilaterally apply tolls," she said.
{{IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER}} The comments come as UK Labour leader Keir Starmer continues a visit to the Gulf region, where he has been meeting with officials and discussing regional security issues. Cooper said the UK remains committed to working with partners to ensure the free flow of international trade and commerce through critical waterways like the Strait of Hormuz.
"They cannot do that as part of the laws of the sea and the United Nations conventions," Cooper concluded firmly.
Source: The Guardian
