Iran says Gulf ports must be open to all or none, calls blockade of its ports ‘piracy’

The unified command of the Iranian armed forces says the ports in the Arabian Gulf and the Sea of Oman are “either for everyone or for no one”, Al Jazeera writes, citing state broadcaster IRIB.

“The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran consider defending the legal rights of our country a natural and legal duty, and accordingly, exercising the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the territorial waters of our country is the natural right of the Iranian nation,” IRIB cited Iran’s forces as stating.

“The criminal US’s imposition of restrictions on the movement of vessels in international waters is an illegal act and amounts to piracy.”

If the security of the ports is threatened, no port in the region “will be safe”, the forces added.