The US has launched a naval blockade to prevent ships from leaving or entering Iranian ports, and American forces have announced that they will intercept the ships or force them to leave the Iranian coast, writes the BBC.
Washington has indicated that ships that do not come from Iran and are not going to it will be allowed to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran closed the critical sea route when the US and Israel launched strikes on it on the last day of February.
To block the strait, the US will rely on its warships, which will control access to Iranian ports and thus limit Tehran’s ability to profit from oil exports. Washington chose the blockade as a way to exert pressure after talks failed to reach an agreement to end the hostilities. A two-week ceasefire is currently in effect.
US President Donald Trump hopes to put pressure on Iran’s economy in two ways: first, Tehran will not receive revenue from the high fees it has demanded from ships trying to pass through the strait; second, it will stop making profits from oil.
Trump told Fox News that
the Americans will not allow Iran to profit from oil that is sold only to those Tehran likes.
The goal is to make the strait, which is important for shipping, accessible to everyone or no one.
Meanwhile, Iran has responded by calling the blockade piracy and threatening attacks on Persian Gulf ports. BBC security commentator Frank Gardner said the blockade poses two main risks – it raises oil and natural gas prices again, and if the ceasefire fails, it could lead to a full-scale war between the US and Iran, affecting surrounding countries such as Dubai, Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
The 2022 Naval Operations Guidelines for the Commander of the US Navy define a blockade as a combat operation to prevent the entry or exit of ships and/or aircraft of all nations, whether hostile or neutral, from designated ports, airfields or coastal areas owned, occupied or controlled by an adversary. The UN’s International Maritime Organization has stated that no country has the legal right to block traffic in straits used for international transit. The organization’s secretary-general, Arsenio Dominguez, told the BBC that he understood that a conflict was taking place, but that did not give him the legal right to take action to block a strait used for international shipping. Donald Rothwell, a professor of international law at the Australian National University, said that international law sees the US, Israel and Iran as belligerents as opposed to neutral powers. This means that the United States, as a belligerent party, can legally, in accordance with international law (specifically – the law of naval warfare), conduct a blockade.
The specific location of the US Navy ships has not been publicly announced,
and this does not allow us to calculate where exactly the Americans can take over other countries’ ships. However, it is clear that the US is unlikely to deploy warships off the coast of Iran, given the risk of attack. Most likely, the main point of the blockade could be around the Gulf of Oman, which is also an important route for the export of Persian Gulf oil, including for Iran. US forces are likely using satellites and commercial intelligence to determine which ships have left Iranian ports and are waiting for them to emerge in the Indian Ocean to intercept the ships. The US Central Command (Centcom) has reported that more than 12 warships and more than 100 destroyers and reconnaissance aircraft are involved in the blockade. Satellite images taken on the 11th of April, analyzed by BBC Verify, show the US aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln on the eastern edge of the Gulf of Oman, about 200 kilometers south of the Iranian coast. Two other ships are also visible in the satellite images, but BBC Verify has not been able to determine which ships they are.
There have been no reports of US interceptions or seizure of ships so far. Centcom has indicated that it will allow humanitarian shipments, including food, medicine and other essential goods, to pass through the strait, subject to inspection. Trump has also announced that the US will begin neutralizing Iranian-installed anti-ship mines, and that an agreement on free passage through the strait could be reached at some point.
On the 14th of April, Centcom reported that six merchant ships had been asked to return to Iranian ports. BBC Verify analysis shows that two Iranian-linked ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz have changed course and turned back. However,
it is possible that the ships transmited false reports of their location.
Tehran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has sent oil prices soaring, but Iran has continued to export its oil, earning significant profits. The US blockade will also have a significant impact on buyers of Iranian oil.
In 2022, about 82% of the Persian Gulf crude exported through the Strait of Hormuz ended up in Asian countries. It is estimated that China alone buys 90% of Iran’s oil exports, and China’s Foreign Ministry has called the blockade dangerous and irresponsible. Analysts have suggested that the blockade could be a way to get Beijing to engage more actively in peace talks.
A prolonged blockade could have even more severe consequences for the global economy, raising fuel and, consequently, food prices, as well as limiting the availability of critical materials such as helium, aluminum, and fertilizer components.
Read also: Britain reports Russian submarine operations over undersea cables and pipelines