[Editor’s Note: Follow the Khaleej Times live blog for the latest regional developments with the US-Israel-Iran ceasefire now in effect.]
Top UAE diplomat Anwar Gargash, who serves as Adviser to the UAE President, has laid out his thoughts on the current situation with Iran, expanding on the Islamic Republic’s “attempts to control the Strait of Hormuz.”
On Tuesday, May 19, Iran announced the formation of a new body to manage the Strait of Hormuz called the PGSA. While it was not immediately clear how the body would control the strait, the Supreme National Security Council in Iran said at the time, “Navigation within the introduced boundaries of the Strait of Hormuz, which were previously determined by the Armed Forces and authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is contingent upon full coordination with these entities, and passage without permission will be considered illegal.”
Stay up to date with the latest news. Follow KT on WhatsApp Channels.
In peacetime, the route accounts for roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, along with other key commodities including fertiliser.
‘Iranian bullying’
Anwar Gargash took to X on Thursday, saying, “We’ve grown accustomed to Iranian bullying over long decades until it became part of the political landscape in the Arabian Gulf, and credibility has been lost between aggressive rhetoric and hollow declarations of friendship.”
He added that the regime in Iran is “trying to consecrate a new reality born from a clear military defeat,” referring to the Islamic Republic’s attempts to control the strait. He said also that such attempts, as well as those to infringe on UAE’s maritime sovereignty, “are nothing but fragments of dreams.”
Gargash said that Iran has lost credibility and trust in the region, and can only restore it through safeguarding the sovereignty of other states in the Middle East, as well as using more responsible language.
Strait of Hormuz and global economy
Earlier, ADNOC CEO Sultan Al Jaber too spoke on Iran’s attempts to control passage through the Strait of Hormuz, saying, “It sets a dangerous precedent when a single country can hold the world’s most important waterway hostage. Freedom of navigation as we know it is effectively finished.”
He said that the closure of the Strait of Hormuz represents the most severe oil supply disruption on record.
Source: Khaleej Times