President Donald Trump said the US Navy would begin the process of blockading vessels trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz. The announcement came in a Truth Social post after Iran-US peace talks held this weekend in Islamabad failed.
The said that the US would enforce the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports at 10 am Eastern Time which 7.30 PM on 13 April, Monday.
A US naval blockade of Iran will be a major, open-ended military endeavor that could trigger fresh retaliation from Tehran and put tremendous strain on an already fragile ceasefire, experts told news agencies.
Intelligence firm Lloyd’s List Intelligence says all vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has stopped following the latest escalation, according to news agency AP.
It reported that movement ceased after announced on Truth Social that the US would impose a blockade on the waterway.
Is a blockade an act of war? Mint answers a few pertinent questions.
What would the US blockade mean?
The blockade marks a shift from diplomacy toward a more coercive approach, warning it could escalate tensions in the West Asia.
According to the on naval operations, a blockade as a “belligerent operation to prevent vessels and/or aircraft of all States, enemy and neutral, from entering or exiting specified ports, airfields, or coastal areas belonging to, occupied by, or under the control of an enemy State,”
President Trump said in his Truth Social post that the US Navy would begin the process of blockading the strait, “effective immediately”. Later, he told Fox News the blockade “will take a little while, but will be effective pretty soon”, and described it as an “all or none” policy.
Setting out the time for the act, the US Central Command said that the US would enforce the blockade of all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports at 10 am Eastern Time which 7.30 PM Indian Standard Time (IST) on 13 April, Monday.
What did CENTCOM say?
According to a CENTCOM statement on X, the blockade would be “enforced impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on the
CENTCOM forces will not impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports, it said.
“Additional information will be provided to commercial mariners through a formal notice prior to the start of the blockade. All mariners are advised to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact US naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and approaches,” CENTCOM said.
Is a blockade an act of war?
Under international law, a blockade is widely regarded as an as act of war. When a country state uses force to prevent ingress or egress of vessels to another state’s ports, it is viewed as engaging in belligerent activity.
During the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, for example, the was careful to label its naval action to stop further deliveries by Soviet ships a “quarantine.” The reason for this was that a “blockade” is an act of war under international law.
But this time, the Trump dispensation has directly called it a blockade.
A blockade is an act of war as per the adopted in Paris on 16 April 1856 and by articles 1-21 of the Declaration Concerning the Laws of Naval War adopted on 26 February 1909 in London.
The (SRM) adopted on 12 June 1994 also provides some legal interpretation in paragraphs 67(a), 93-104, 146(f) and 153(f).
A blockade has to comply with international humanitarian law (IHL) applicable in international and non-international armed conflict. This means respecting the principles of military necessity, distinction and proportionality, while protecting civilians and civilian objects.
Act of aggression
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The “blockade of the ports or coasts of a State by the armed forces of another State” qualifies as an act of aggression and is illegal under international law, according to.
“The blockade of the ports of a state by the armed forces of another state,” is also considered act of aggression as per the UNGA resolution.
