Iran imposes its own blockade amid US Navy’s Hormuz crackdown

The US Navy on Monday blockaded the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf and clarified that the blockade will be enforced on all ships using Iranian ports but not others in the region. US Navy had established a naval blockade of all Iranian ports and coastal areas, confirmed US Military’s central command with effect from 2 pm GMT (7.30 pm in India). US President Donald Trump threatened to attack Iran’s “fast attack ships” and said, “I don’t care if they come back (for negotiation) or not… I’m fine”.

Within minutes of the US blockade, a spokesperson for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters of IRGC issued a statement to say, “…the restrictions imposed by the United States on maritime movement in international waters are illegal and amount to piracy…security in the ports of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman will either be for everyone, or for no one. If the security of Iran’s ports in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman is threatened, no port in these waters will remain safe”.

“Security in the ports of the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman will either be for everyone, or for no one,” said IRGC adding, “Vessels affiliated with enemies are not permitted and will not be permitted to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. Other vessels may continue to transit, provided they comply with the regulations set by Iran’s armed forces. Given the continued threats against Iran’s people and national security, even after the war ends, Iran will decisively implement a permanent mechanism to control the Strait of Hormuz,” the IRGC statement read.

The US decision to lay a naval blockade on the Strait of Hormuz to put pressure on Iran, however, has added to anxiety and uncertainties about supplies in future. Petroleum prices and prices of petroleum products, in both spots and the futures market, have not gone up to the extent that was feared following the war on Iran and the conflict extending to 40 days before a two-week ceasefire was announced on 8 April. The prices will however start going up again if the blockade continues longer, warned Prof Karen Young of Columbia University in a chat with Fareed Zakaria on CNN.

Worries about the duration of the war and the damage to oil installations, which will take weeks to restart, are now augmented by worried over the blockade. Especially hit are countries with no or low stockpiles of petroleum. While India has some strategic reserve, countries like Sri Lanka and Thailand are already advising schools to hold online classes and reduce use of elevators and air conditioners run by generators. Prices of jet fuel, LNG, LPG for cooking, fertilisers and polymer-based industries besides computer-chip manufacturers will bear the brunt of the escalation and price-rise, she cautioned.

The blockade will take more oil off the market, experts warned and will lead to a dramatic increase in inflation in the US as well, although the US does not depend on oil from West Asia. The naval blockade escalation will make the closing of the Red Sea by the Houthis more likely and take another 12 per cent of the of global oil flow off the market.

Prof. John Mearsheimer said in an interview, “(the blockade) is not only ineffective — it’s counterproductive. The idea that Iran will simply throw up its hands and surrender is not a serious argument. Why did we allow Iranian oil back into global markets? Because we needed it. We removed sanctions because without Iranian oil, the global economy could go off a cliff. If the Houthis and the Iranians shut down the Red Sea, you won’t just lose Persian Gulf oil — you’ll lose Red Sea trade as well. That would throttle the world economy. And that’s what could ultimately force the Trump administration to concede”.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei wondered in a tweet whether the US is ‘cutting one’s nose to spite one’s face’ and Iranians asked, “If the rest of the world is willing to pay a small toll to Iran to keep oil flowing and stabilise markets, then why does the US feel the need to block all shipping, especially when it is not dependent on that oil?”