UN Asserts No Country Has the Right to Close the Strait of Hormuz

The head of the UN’s maritime agency has responded to threats from US President Donald Trump regarding a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. The UN states that no country has the legal right to block shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, a trade route paralysed by the US-Iran war.

This was conveyed by the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization, Arsenio Dominguez, during a press conference as access to the Strait of Hormuz remains blocked six weeks after the war erupted with US and Israeli attacks on Iran.

“In accordance with international law, no country has the right to prohibit the right of peaceful passage or freedom of navigation through international straits used for international transit,” Dominguez said, as reported by AFP on Monday (13/4/2026).

It is known that the US has threatened to initiate a blockade on Monday against Iranian ports inside and around the Strait of Hormuz, which has been controlled by Iranian forces since the war broke out on 28 February.

Iranian authorities have permitted a small number of verified ships to pass through the strait via routes close to their coast, and in some cases, reports indicate that fees have been charged to allow those ships to pass.

“The principle of imposing tolls in international straits for international navigation contradicts international maritime law and customary law,” Dominguez stated.

“This would create a very dangerous precedent,” he added.

Meanwhile, the US promise to blockade Iranian ports will not ease the situation. He assessed that de-escalation would be what starts to help address the crisis and restore shipping to how we operated before.

However, Dominguez estimated that the additional impact from the US blockade on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz would be very small.

“With the very small number of ships that have managed to pass through the strait, an additional blockade would not worsen the situation to a perceptible level,” he added.