FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — To end the war Iran, along with the United States and Israel, is demanding the right to collect tolls in the Strait of Hormuz as a precondition for reopening the waterway, which is vital to global oil supplies.
However, charging tolls in the straits would violate a fundamental and enduring principle of international maritime trade: freedom of peaceful navigation. This is an ancient idea codified by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which came into force in 1994.
Opening the Straits will save the world economy supply constraints Energy and fertilizer prices have risen sharply since the war began on February 28th. But agreeing to Iranian tolls would strengthen the Islamic Republic’s control over the strait, through which 20% of the world’s oil is transported, and strengthen the wealth of its military against Iran. war has been released.
US President Donald Trump has made reopening the strait a top priority. But the White House announced Wednesday that he opposes the toll, and analysts say Gulf oil-producing countries also oppose it.
Analysts say they have seen no change in traffic through the strait since the ceasefire was announced, despite White House claims to the contrary.
Here’s what you need to know about Iran’s proposal and the international law it conflicts with.
Iran had already started charging ships passing through the strait.
After the United States and Israel went to war, Iran immediately used its influence to block the strait by attacking and threatening ships, making the passage too dangerous. The disruption created immediate shortages in some Asian countries that rely on regional energy, raised gasoline prices in the United States and Europe, and threatened global economic growth.
Iran then began inspecting ships in an opaque program that shipping analysts refer to as “toll plazas.”
The ship was directed to change course from the mid-strait between Iran and Oman’s territorial waters and instead detour around Iran’s Larak Island. After providing detailed information about their crew and cargo to intermediaries from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, some of the ships were allowed to sail, and at least two reportedly paid the equivalent of $2 million in Chinese yuan.
The Convention on the Law of the Sea guarantees peaceful navigation of ships
Iran’s 10-point proposal to end the war includes a provision that would allow Iran and Oman to attack ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, said a person speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss negotiations directly involving Iran and Oman. The official said Iran would use the funds raised for reconstruction.
However, Article 17 of the Convention on the Law of the Sea guarantees the right of “innocent passage” for ships that do not threaten coastal states. So allowing Iran and Oman to start charging tolls across the strait would set a dangerous precedent, experts say.
Philippe Delebecque, a professor at Sorbonne University in Paris and an expert on maritime law, said freedom of navigation in the world’s oceans had been a fundamental right for hundreds of years, based on “the idea that the seas belonged to no one.”
“Freedom of navigation has always been recognized, especially in the Straits,” he said. The concern is that if the Strait of Hormuz can be closed, why not the Strait of Gibraltar between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, or the Strait of Malacca off the coast of Indonesia?
He called the scenario “the end of the international community.”
Neither Iran nor the United States has ratified the Convention on the Law of the Sea.
172 countries have ratified the UN Convention, but Iran and the United States are among the countries that have not ratified it.
“Not ratifying the treaty does not give (Iran) complete freedom of action in the Strait of Hormuz,” said Julien Raynaut, president of the French Maritime Law Association, an industry group. “It remains subject to international law, in particular this customary right of passage.”
Raynaut said China may decide that if Iranian toll gates are installed, it could restrict movement through the Taiwan Strait.
Konstantinos Yaroulides, a senior fellow at the UK Institute of International and Comparative Law, said Oman and Iran could face a diplomatic backlash for complying with the treaty.
Free passage “is in everyone’s interest,” he said. “We all want to get the best product at the best price.”
The world economy needs the Strait of Hormuz to reopen
Some economists say that from a strictly financial perspective, the world would hardly notice any additional costs from tolls in the Strait of Hormuz.
For example, if a large tanker carrying 2 million barrels of oil costs $2 million in tolls, the ship’s oil costs will increase by $1 per barrel.
The Bruegel think tank in Brussels wrote: “The burden lies not with the world’s consumers, but with the Gulf states that overwhelmingly supply the oil that passes through the Straits.” The report said the reopening of the strait would immediately benefit the global economy, meaning 20% of the world’s oil would return to the market and prices would fall.
Moreover, lowering oil prices would eliminate billions of dollars in geopolitical inventory for Russia, whose demand for oil has suddenly increased despite sanctions.
The international price of crude oil rose from about $72 per barrel before the war to $118 per barrel on March 31st. On Monday, international benchmark Brent crude traded at $94.55, plunging on news of a two-week ceasefire.
Gulf oil producers are concerned about Iran’s control of the strait
Saudi Arabia, the Gulf’s biggest producer, welcomed the ceasefire agreement between the United States and Iran but called for the Strait of Hormuz to remain open “without any restrictions.”
Gulf states have had to halt oil production of about 12 million barrels per day because there is no viable way to get much of the oil by bypassing the strait. The two pipelines that bypass it are not large enough to replace all the oil lost, and building a new one will take years.
Bruegel said that given the downsides of the toll plaza proposal, Gulf states would only agree if all other options seemed far worse.
The main Western objection is that the sacrifice is likely to benefit the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is in charge of Iran’s ballistic missile program, suppresses domestic political opposition, and is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union.
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Leicester reported from Paris. Michael Biesecker in Washington contributed to this report.
