Iran says US blockade of ports unlawful, criminal, and violation of ceasefire
Iran has called the US blockade of its ports an unlawful act which violates key terms of international law, including the United Nations Charter.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday that the “so-called” blockade of Iran’s ports and coastline by the United States which began last week has also violated a ceasefire announced by Pakistan on April 8 to allow a halt to US-Israeli aggression on Iran.
Baghaei said that the blockade was unlawful because it was in breach of two main UN laws.
“It violates Article 2(4) of the UN Charter; it constitutes an act of aggression under Article 3(c) of the UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 (1974), which explicitly includes the blockade of a state’s ports or coasts among such acts,” he said in a post on his X account.
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The diplomat further said that the US naval blockade amounts to a war crime and a crime against humanity because it is “deliberately inflicting collective punishment on the Iranian population” by banning essential trade between the country and the rest of the world.
The US announced a naval blockade on Iran after failing to reach its military objectives in a joint war of aggression with Israel against the country that started in late February.
The move came in response to Iran’s effective imposition of restrictions on transit via the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway in the Persian Gulf which is responsible for a fifth of global oil demand.
Iran on Friday briefly eased its restrictions on the passage of non-hostile commercial shipping in the Strait amid efforts to negotiate a permanent end to the war.
However, Iranian authorities announced a day later that restrictions had returned in response to the US refusal to lift its blockade on Iranian maritime trade activity.
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