Iran Asserts Control Over Strait with Attack on Merchant Vessel

Iran asserts that it controls access and that any passage must be approved by it, and to prove that, it attacked a merchant vessel in Omani waters yesterday. This cannot stand. If this is the future—where Iran decides who may transit international waters under threat of attack—then the rules-based order is finished. This is unsustainable.

New York Times: Iran’s Revolutionary Guards issued a new threat on Thursday to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Gulf Arab leaders in Bahrain to try to allay their security concerns. Iran warned ships that the only route through the strait, which is usually a vital pathway for oil and natural gas, was through its waters, in coordination with its navy, and