LONDON: Gulf Arab countries have written to the UN secretary-general protesting against Iran’s “unacceptable claim” to have imposed new rules for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The letter also condemned Iran’s attacks on countries in the region for making sovereign choices related to “their security and international partnerships,” Bahrain News Agency reported on Thursday.
The letter was sent by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, and Qatar, as well as Jordan, to UN chief Antonio Guterres and China’s UN ambassador Fu Cong, who is currently the Security Council president.
Iran targeted Gulf countries with missiles and drones and blocked the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the US-Israel war launched at the end of February. The waterway is the main route for Gulf states to export oil, gas, and other key commodities.
Despite a ceasefire announced on April 8, Iran has continued to attack shipping. Meanwhile, Iranian officials have issued statements criticizing Gulf countries, and Tehran has claimed to have imposed a new system for ships wishing to pass through the entrance to the Gulf.
The letter said that the Iranian statements come amid “continuous Iranian escalation against the countries of the region and their vital interests.”
Statements are part of a “discourse of threat and pressure that targets the sovereignty of countries and the independence of their political and security decisions.”
The letter called for Iran to “retract any claim or threat of unilateral control over the Strait of Hormuz” and not to impede international navigation of the waterway, including through imposing fees on shipping or laying mines.
Bahrain and the US are seeking support for a draft Security Council resolution calling for freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
The first draft tabled last month was vetoed by China and Russia.
