Iran can limit tankers access to Strait of Hormuz
Iran can restrict oil tankers’ access to the Strait of Hormuz based on its “right of retaliation” when a European Union embargo on its oil starts next week, said Kayhan’s editor-in-chief, Hossein Shariatmadari, Bloomberg reports.
Iran’s “hands aren’t tied” when it comes to the embargo that will come into force on July 1 and it can respond to the “bellicose undertaking” by barring access to tankers transporting oil for countries enforcing the sanctions, Shariatmadari wrote in an editorial published yesterday.
Iran can act in line with its rights under the 1958 Convention on the Territorial Sea, said the head of the Tehran- based daily who was appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Persian Gulf country “can prevent the passage of oil tankers or ships with military or commercial loads that aren’t considered harmless for its security, order and peace,” he said. “Why shouldn’t Iran use its legal right?”