President Donald Trump said the US Navy will begin the process of blocking vessels attempting 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 US Central Command said the US will enforce a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports at 10:00 AM ET, which is 19:30 Indian Standard Time on Monday, April 13.
Read also | Iran embargo: Trump bets on US oil exports as global energy crisis deepens
A US naval blockade of Iran will be a major open-ended military effort that could provoke fresh retaliation from Tehran and put enormous pressure on an already fragile ceasefire, experts told news agencies.
Lloyd’s List Intelligence says all shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has stopped following the latest escalation, according to the AP news agency.
She said the movement stopped after US President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that the US would impose a blockade on the waterway.
Is the blockade an act of war? Mint answers several relevant questions.
What would a US blockade mean?
The blockade marks a shift from diplomacy to a more coercive approach and warns that it could escalate tensions in West Asia.
According to US Navy Commander’s Handbook on naval operations, blockade as “a combat operation designed to prevent vessels and/or aircraft of all states, hostile or neutral, from entering or leaving designated ports, airfields, or coastal areas belonging to, occupied, or under the control of a hostile state.”
President Trump said in his Truth Social post that the US Navy will begin the process of blocking the strait “with immediate effect.” He later told Fox News that the blockade “will take some time, but it will be effective soon” and described it as an “all or nothing” policy.
Read also | Iran War News LIVE Update: Shipping traffic appears to have ground to a halt in the Strait of Hormuz
The US Central Command has set a time for the act, saying the US will enforce a blockade of all maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports at 10:00 AM Eastern Time, which is 19:30 Indian Standard Time (IST) on Monday, April 13.
What did CENTCOM say?
According to a CENTCOM statement on X, the blockade “would be applied impartially against vessels of all nations entering or leaving Iranian ports and coastal areas, including all Iranian ports on Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman.”
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 notification prior to the commencement of the blockade. All mariners are advised to monitor the Notice to Mariners broadcast and contact US Naval Forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaching,” CENTCOM said.
Is the blockade an act of war?
Under international law, a blockade is generally considered an act of war. When a country’s state uses force to prevent vessels from entering or leaving the ports of another state, it is considered to be engaging in an act of war.
For example, during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 Kennedy administration he was careful to label his naval action to stop further supplies by Soviet ships a “quarantine”. The reason was that a “blockade” is an act of war under international law.
But this time, Trump’s dispensation directly called it a blockade.
A blockade is an act of war Declaration on respect for maritime law adopted at Paris on 16 April 1856 and Articles 1-21 of the Declaration of the Rights of Naval War adopted at London on 26 February 1909.
The San Remo Manual on the International Law Applicable to Armed Conflicts at Sea (SRM) adopted on 12 June 1994 also provides some legal interpretation in paragraphs 67(a), 93-104, 146(f) and 153(f).
The blockade must be consistent with international humanitarian law (IHL) applicable in international and non-international armed conflicts. This means respecting the principles of military necessity, distinction and proportionality while protecting civilians and civilian objects.
An act of aggression
This blockade marks a shift from diplomacy to a more coercive approach.
“The blockade of the ports or coasts of one state by the armed forces of another state” qualifies as an act of aggression under UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 and is illegal under international law.
“The blockade of the ports or coast of one state by the armed forces of another state” qualifies as an act of aggression and is illegal under international law. UN General Assembly Resolution 3314.
“The blockade of the ports of one state by the armed forces of another state” is also considered an act of aggression under the UN General Assembly resolution.
