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The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has said ships entering the strait of Hormuz must cooperate with the Iranian navy as reports emerged of a ship being seized outside a United Arab Emirate port and taken towards Iranian waters.
The UK Maritime Trading Organisation said the docked ship was seized by “unauthorised personnel” while it was anchored off the coast of the United Arab Emirates port of Fujairah near the southern entry to the strait of Hormuz.
Araghchi, who was in India for a meeting of the Brics group of nations, described Iran as invincible and said: “In our view, the strait of Hormuz is open to all commercial ships, but they must cooperate with our naval forces.”
During the meeting, he also told the UAE delegate that cooperation with Israel would not protect the Gulf state. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said he made a secret trip to the UAE at the height of the war to meet the president, a claim that has been denied by the UAE.
Iran has largely closed the strait of Hormuz, which previously carried about a quarter of the world’s seaborne supply of oil and gas, since the start of the US-Israeli bombing campaign. Last month the US imposed a counterblockade of Iranian ports. Thousands of ships remain stranded.
Araghchi told the Brics meeting: “We have not created any obstacles, it is America that has created the blockade, and I hope this situation will end with the lifting of this illegal blockade imposed by America.”
He added: “As nations and governments around the world are discovering today, regional instability is a lose-lose situation for all parties, including the aggressors themselves … It should be clear to everyone now that Iran is invincible and will emerge stronger and more united whenever it is put under pressure.”
Araghchi called on Brics nations to condemn what he described as violations of international law by the US and Israel. “What was once considered unthinkable and deeply shameful is now either ignored or openly accepted in western capitals: horrific genocides, shocking violations of state sovereignty, and outright piracy on the high seas,” he said.
“These crimes, and the west’s silence in the face of them, are only possible when there is a sense of impunity. This false sense of superiority and immunity must be shattered by all of us.”
A communique in support of Iran is not expected from the Brics group, not least because of the presence of the UAE.
Iran is also trying to fend off a large rebuff at the UN where more than 110 nations are co-sponsoring a security council resolution tabled jointly by Bahrain and the US condemning the Iranian blockade.
A previous resolution was vetoed jointly by Russia and China on 7 April. The new draft is due to be discussed by the security council as early as Thursday.
Iran says it has reached a deal with China that has already allowed a large number of oil tankers bound for China to go through the strait of Hormuz since Wednesday night, and this has been made possible by China agreeing to limited charging, undercutting US opposition to such moves. The development suggests China has accepted Iran’s assertion that the shipping rules in the strait have changed, with reports suggesting the cost will be in region of $1 per barrel.
The initial draft text vetoed on 7 April, proposed by Bahrain, invoked chapter VII of the UN charter, setting out the security council’s powers to maintain peace, and would have authorised “member states, acting nationally or through voluntary multinational naval partnerships, to use all necessary means in and around the strait of Hormuz to secure transit passage and repress, neutralise and deter attempts to close, obstruct, or otherwise interfere with international navigation through the strait”.
It was watered down at French insistence to remove reference to chapter VII authorisation – ultimately endorsing only defensive measures – and was vetoed by Russia and China, two permanent members of the security council.
The latest resolution demands Iran cease its attacks on shipping, remove illegal mines, drop the proposed imposition of tolls in the strait of Hormuz, disclose mine locations and cooperate on a humanitarian corridor.
The resolution contains no specific threat of force but is still regarded by Russia as unbalanced as it contains no criticism of the original US-Israeli attack on Iran.
A joint letter from six Gulf States to the UN, not signed by Oman, calls on Iran to refrain from enacting or implementing any rules, procedures, fees, threats of mine laying or discriminatory measures that would restrict or impede international navigation.
Oman has been in talks with the UN to see if a new administrative regime can be introduced in the strait that will include payment for services.
