Iran argues that the root cause of current maritime risks in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz is US and Israeli military actions against Iran, while also criticizing the role of several regional states.
The document, submitted on July 6, reiterates Tehran's longstanding legal position on the Strait of Hormuz, stating that maritime traffic through the waterway remains open under safety and security coordination measures, and calls on the IMO to maintain neutrality, avoid adjudicating legal disputes, and preserve its technical and non-political role.
The full text of the document is as follows:
Executive summary:
This document presents the comments of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding document C 137/16/4. It repudiates the selective, politically motivated, and legally unfounded characterizations contained therein and emphasizes that the fundamental cause of the current threats impacting shipping, seafarers, maritime safety infrastructure, marine environmental protection, and the continuity of maritime transport in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz is the aggression carried out by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Islamic Republic of Iran, including through the participation, support, or facilitation by the United Arab Emirates and other States. The document additionally emphasizes that the IMO Council lacks the authority to determine international responsibility, resolve disputes concerning sovereignty or jurisdiction, or establish the legal regime governing a waterway. Any deliberation by the Council must strictly remain technical, neutral, balanced, comprehensive, and non-discriminatory, and must not prejudice the legal positions, sovereignty, sovereign rights, responsibilities, and legitimate interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Strategic direction, if applicable: SD 1, SD 2, SD 5 and SD 6
Output: Not applicable
Action to be taken: Paragraph 27
Related documents: C 137/16/4; C 137/16/2; C 137/9/1; C 137/9/2; Charter of the United Nations; General Assembly resolution 3314 (XXIX); official communications and legal positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz
Introduction
1. The Islamic Republic of Iran categorically rejects, in its entirety, the allegations, legal characterizations, political accusations and proposed conclusions contained in document C 137/16/4. That document is founded upon a selective and politically motivated narrative, assigns responsibility to the victim of aggression, disregards the fundamental causes of the current instability, and attempts to convert the Council of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) into a platform for political pressure against a Member State under the guise of maritime safety, seafarer welfare, and the protection of vital shipping lanes. Furthermore, the Islamic Republic of Iran emphasizes that the utilization of the territory, airspace, military assets, bases, facilities, and logistical infrastructure of certain countries, including the United Arab Emirates, in connection with hostile actions by the United States and the Israeli regime towards Iran constitutes an act of aggression in accordance with customary international law and Article 3 of General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX). 2. The Council should refrain from adopting, endorsing, or transmitting any document that seeks to establish international responsibility, prejudges contentious legal and factual issues, assigns responsibility to a Member State, urges States to adopt positions of recognition or non-recognition, or makes pronouncements concerning the legal regime of a waterway, sovereignty, or jurisdiction. The language contained in document C137/16/4 exceeds the technical mandate and competence of the Council and, if accepted, could establish an undesirable precedent that undermines the objectives of IMO and the technical, impartial, and non-politicized nature of the Organization. 3. The Islamic Republic of Iran places utmost importance on maritime safety, security of navigation, the welfare of seafarers, search and rescue operations, emergency response, port activities, marine environmental protection, and the safe, orderly, and predictable conduct of maritime transport. Iran has sustained its efforts in ensuring maritime safety, traffic monitoring, search and rescue, and emergency response capabilities. The Strait of Hormuz remains accessible to maritime navigation, contingent upon safety and security coordination.
Root cause of the current risks
4. Any credible, legally sound, and technically comprehensive assessment of the situation in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz must commence with an identification of the fundamental cause of the current risks: the unlawful use of force by the United States and the Israeli regime against the sovereignty, territorial integrity, islands, coastal zones, and maritime approaches of the Islamic Republic of Iran, including through the involvement, support, or facilitation of the United Arab Emirates and certain other states. 5. The aggression directed against the Islamic Republic of Iran has engendered and intensified risks to ships, seafarers, ports, search and rescue assets, medical vessels, Vessel Traffic Services, maritime monitoring systems, pollution-response capacity, and the fragile marine environment of the Persian Gulf. Employing a selective approach that isolates purported consequences from the fundamental cause reverses the roles of victim and aggressor and compromises the technical credibility and neutrality of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). 6. The scale of harm caused by the United States and Israeli Regime and their alliances and supporters is serious. According to information available to Iran, during the war and ceasefire period, 116 incidents involving 367 vessels have been recorded, including 254 ships that were sunk or otherwise totally destroyed. The human impact has also been severe: 63 seafarers were martyred, 70 were injured, 8 remain missing, and 62 were taken hostage. Damage was also sustained by four maritime operations buildings, four Vessel Traffic Services/control stations, and eight relay units, which are essential for safe navigation, emergency coordination and maritime traffic management. 7. The Islamic Republic of Iran has also documented that the territory, airspace, military assets, bases, facilities, and logistical infrastructure of certain States, including the United Arab Emirates, have been utilized in conjunction with hostile activities by the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran. A State whose conduct itself is associated with the creation or escalation of risks to shipping cannot credibly position itself as a neutral protector of maritime safety, seafarer welfare, or commercial navigation.
Legal position concerning the Strait of Hormuz
8. The Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms its longstanding legal position concerning passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is not a party to UNCLOS and is not bound by the treaty-based regime invoked by certain States concerning straits used for international navigation. Iran has persistently and explicitly challenged the characterization of this regime as customary international law, including at the time of the UNCLOS signature and through its ongoing legislative and diplomatic actions. 9. The Council must therefore refrain from employing language that presumes the existence or applicability of a disputed legal regime, or suggests that the Islamic Republic of Iran has consented to obligations it has persistently and explicitly contested. No phrasing within any Council resolution should be construed as prejudicing Iran's long-standing legal position concerning passage through the Strait of Hormuz. 10. Parts of the Strait of Hormuz fall within the territorial waters of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Under the international law of the sea, a coastal State exercises sovereignty, jurisdiction and sovereign authority over its territorial sea. 11. The consistent position and practice of the Islamic Republic of Iran over past decades demonstrate Iran’s adherence to the regime of innocent passage and its nonacceptance of the treaty-based regime of transit passage through straits used for international navigation. Innocent passage necessarily entails respect for the sovereignty of the coastal State over its territorial sea and excludes any activities that threaten the sovereignty, security, peace or good order of the coastal State. 12. The applicable legal framework for the Islamic Republic of Iran is founded on the sovereignty of the coastal State over its territorial waters. It includes the regime of innocent passage and affirms the right of the coastal State to enact necessary laws, regulations, and security measures to ensure that such passage does not threaten its peace, good order, or security. 13. The prevailing situation in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz deviates from standard peacetime conditions. It has been significantly influenced by acts of aggression, persistent threats of force, and hostile activities directed toward the Islamic Republic of Iran. Under these circumstances, the implementation of suitable safety and security coordination measures constitutes a legitimate, necessary, and proportionate exercise of the rights and responsibilities vested in the competent coastal State. 14. The measures implemented by the Islamic Republic of Iran are intended to uphold maritime safety and security, prevent the provision of support or assistance to acts of aggression, safeguard Iran's sovereignty and vital security interests, and ensure that navigation remains safe and non-threatening. These measures do not constitute the closure of the Strait. Maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has not been halted and continues under appropriate supervisory and coordination measures. 15. The Islamic Republic of Iran has consistently acted in the spirit of regional cooperation and has been engaged in continuing consultations with the Sultanate of Oman, as the other coastal State bordering the Strait of Hormuz, concerning management arrangements and coordination measures relating to the administration of this waterway, in accordance with international law and applicable national regulations. These consultations remain ongoing. 16. The Islamic Republic of Iran rejects any characterization of the administrative, safety, security or coordination arrangements of the competent coastal State as unlawful, discriminatory or obstructive. Without prejudice to its long-standing legal position concerning passage through the Strait of Hormuz, such arrangements fall within the lawful authority of the coastal State and must not be distorted into allegations of closure or interference with navigation.
Exercise of the inherent right of self-defence and sovereign competences
17. Contrary to the allegations concerning the purported “closure of the Strait of Hormuz”, the Islamic Republic of Iran has adopted no policy aimed at closing this waterway. The measures taken by the Islamic Republic of Iran in and around the Strait have been regulatory, supervisory and precautionary in character, and have been adopted in response to the exceptional security circumstances created by acts of aggression and the misuse of the Strait for hostile purposes. Their objective has been to preserve the safety and security of navigation, protect the lives of seafarers, and prevent the Strait from being used to facilitate hostile operations, including acts constituting serious violations of international humanitarian law and war crimes. Such measures fall within the rights, jurisdiction and responsibilities of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a coastal State and cannot be characterized as a closure of the Strait or as a use of force. 18. It is self-evident that any legal regime governing passage through straits used for international navigation must also be interpreted and applied with due regard to the rights and sovereignty of coastal States and in light of the principle of non-abuse of rights, including the obligation to refrain from activities that endanger the security and essential interests of the coastal State.
Selective narrative and deliberate disregard of material facts in document C 137/16/4
19. Document C 137/16/4 deliberately omits critical sources of risk that are directly pertinent to the work of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). These encompass the unlawful blockade measures announced by the United States against vessels entering or departing from Iranian ports, coercive maritime restrictions impacting commercial navigation related to Iranian ports and maritime approaches, and the substantial operational and humanitarian risks posed by such measures to ships, seafarers, port access, crew changes, search and rescue operations, emergency response, essential supplies, and the continuity of maritime transport. 20. The same document also deliberately disregards the United States' armed seizure, forcible boarding, diversion, appropriation, and confiscation of commercial vessels and cargoes, including Iranian commercial vessels and those carrying Iranian cargoes. These acts have direct implications for maritime safety, the security of navigation, seafarer welfare, commercial shipping, and the integrity of IMO reporting and follow-up mechanisms. 21. A Council outcome that documents allegations against the Islamic Republic of Iran, while disregarding aggression directed against Iran, involvement or facilitation by third States, unlawful blockade measures, armed interference with commercial vessels and cargoes, and damage to Iranian ships, seafarers, ports, and maritime safety infrastructure, would be incomplete, unbalanced, discriminatory, and technically unreliable.
Institutional integrity of IMO
22. IMO is a specialized technical organization. Its Council, committees, reporting mechanisms and follow-up actions must remain neutral, balanced, comprehensive, factual, non-discriminatory and within the Organization’s mandate. IMO, as a specialized agency of the United Nations, was established to promote maritime safety, maritime security, the facilitation of international shipping and the protection of the marine environment through the development of technical standards and the promotion of international cooperation. 23. The Council is neither a judicial body competent to determine the international responsibility of States, nor a forum for the submission or pursuit of political disputes among Member States. Any attempt to use the Council as a platform for advancing political accusations against a Member State is inconsistent with the principles of neutrality, the technical character of the Organization and its established practice, and risks undermining the credibility and effectiveness of this specialized body. 24. Discussions within various IMO bodies regarding the regional situation have been contentious. Outcomes that are adopted through voting or accompanied by objections, abstentions, and non-participation should not be construed as representing an institutional consensus of IMO as a whole. The Council must refrain from permitting such disputed outcomes to serve as a foundation for a political declaration against a Member State. 25. Document C 137/16/4 contains a series of unilateral allegations concerning “attacks”, “disruption of navigation” and “aggressive activities”, without providing credible, substantiated and verifiable evidence for such attributions. It also advances a selective narrative by omitting any reference to the attacks and hostile acts directed against the ships, seafarers, ports and maritime infrastructure of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Such an approach reflects the application of double standards and is inconsistent with the principles of neutrality and fairness that should govern the work of the International Maritime Organization. 26. Moreover, the allegations concerning alleged “mine-laying” by the Islamic Republic of Iran are entirely baseless, unsupported by any credible evidence and categorically rejected. These allegations are advanced solely for the purpose of constructing a false narrative, distorting the realities on the ground and undermining the standing of the Islamic Republic of Iran in international maritime affairs.
Action requested of the Council
27. The Council is invited to: .1 take note of the information and legal position of the Islamic Republic of Iran set forth in this document; .2 refrain from adopting, endorsing, or transmitting the selective, politically motivated, and legally unfounded proposal contained in document C 137/16/4; .3 recognize that any consideration of the situation in the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz must identify the aggression by the United States and the Israeli regime against the Islamic Republic of Iran, including the participation, support or facilitation by the United Arab Emirates and certain other States, as the fundamental cause of the current risks affecting maritime safety, seafarer welfare, marine environmental protection, facilitation of maritime traffic, technical cooperation and legal matters; .4 ensure that any reporting, monitoring, technical guidance, follow-up, or Council action concerning the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz remains neutral, balanced, comprehensive, non-discriminatory, founded on verified information, and representative of all pertinent incidents and sources of risk, including acts of aggression, blockade measures, coercive restrictions, and armed interference with commercial vessels and cargoes; .5 reaffirm that IMO bodies should refrain from prejudging disputed legal matters, including the legal regime governing the Strait of Hormuz, issues of sovereignty, jurisdiction, responsibility, recognition or non-recognition, and the legal positions of Member States under the law of the sea; .6 ensure that any arrangement or follow-up regarding maritime traffic, safety coordination, seafarer welfare, emergency response, or technical cooperation in the Strait of Hormuz is developed with the consent and full coordination of the competent coastal State concerned, without prejudice to the legal position, sovereignty, sovereign rights, responsibilities, and legitimate interests of the Islamic Republic of Iran; .7 request the Secretary-General and the Secretariat to ensure that all future reports or briefings concerning the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz accurately reflect all sources of risk, including, but not limited to, acts of aggression against the Islamic Republic of Iran, unlawful blockade measures against ships entering or exiting Iranian ports, coercive maritime restrictions, and the armed seizure, diversion, appropriation and confiscation of Iranian commercial vessels and cargoes; and .8 preserve the technical, impartial, and non-political nature of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and prevent the Organization from being exploited as a platform for selective political pressure against any Member State.
MNA