Baghdad and Islamabad have reportedly negotiated with Iran the passage of their oil tankers to Hormuz. Tehran wants to “nationalize” the Strait, and is negotiating with Oman.
While negotiations between Iran and the United States appear to be at a standstill, with the ceasefire being defined by Donald Trump as “at the end of its life”, Tehran continues its plans to nationalize the Strait of Hormuz.
Iraq and Pakistan reach an agreement with Tehran
According to what was reported by Reuters, which cites five sources informed of the facts, Iraq and Pakistan have in fact signed bilateral agreements with Tehran to guarantee the passage of their oil and gas tankers.
The veracity of this agreement, in any case not made public, it seems to be confirmed by the transit of two Iraqi supertankers through Hormuzwhich occurred Sunday, with each of the two ships carrying about 2 million barrels of crude oil.
Even the Pakistani mediator, according to Pakistani industrial sector sources interviewed by Reuters, would have reached an accommodation with Iran for the passage of ships carrying energy addressed to him.
In fact, in recent days two ships loaded with Qatari LNG bound for Pakistan have safely crossed the Straitoffering detailed documentation on ships, designated routes and accepting oversight from Iranian naval forces.
Tehran therefore seems to confirm its intention to transform the Strait from a neutral transit to a “controlled corridor”where allied or friendly countries (as is the case for Iraq and Pakistan) will be able to transit, but adversaries will not.
Talks with Oman
Although for the moment there are no payments made by Pakistan and Iraq in relation to the transits, the statements of numerous officials and members of the Iranian government seem to indicate the intention to establish a toll system.
It is no coincidence that on Tuesday an Iranian delegation met its Omani counterpart in the Omani capital, Muscat, with which it held a technical-legal meeting regarding the Strait of Hormuz and the “measures to ensure the safe passage of ships and the sovereign rights of both nations in that waterway”, as reported by Iranian media.
According to Iranian Press TV, during the talks “both sides reaffirmed their sovereign rights and jurisdiction over the Straitunderlining that it is part of the territorial waters of both countries.”
In short, Tehran wants to give legality to what would be a nationalization of the Strait, co-opting Oman as well, whose territorial waters, together with those of Iran, cover the entire aquatic corridor.
Although the Strait is effectively divided in half between Iranian and Omani territorial waters, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea imposes the principle of “transit passage”.
This means that neither Iran nor Oman can legally block, suspend or impede the continuous and rapid transit of foreign commercial or military vessels, as long as they do not pose a direct threat to the security of coastal states, which applies only to military vessels. Tehran, however, has never ratified this Convention.
The Western response
The United States, however, certainly cannot allow the principle of “freedom of navigation” is thus put aside.
President Trump has already made it known in recent days that he is evaluating the relaunch of the Operation “Project Freedom“, Then suspendedwhich however could be a component of a “wider military operation” to reopen the passage to commercial ships, which would mean a new phase of active warfare.
The European allies, including Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy, have said they are in favor of sending resources to reopen the Strait, but only after the war is over.
London has already prepared the dispatch of the destroyer HMS Dragonbut its operational deployment to escort merchant ships is indeed subordinated to the “achievement of a definitive ceasefire”.
Along the same lines, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani reiterated today that “Hormuz must return to be a free and open international Strait”, also confirming that the sending of minesweepers will only take place once hostilities have ended and subject to authorization from Parliament.
In short, Europe prefers to coordinate an international defensive mission rather than force Iran’s hand during the conflict.
