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Iran's coastline: architecture of control - Al Jazeera
Skip linksSkip to Content Live Navigation menuNewsAfricaAsiaUS & CanadaLatin AmericaEuropeAsia PacificMiddle EastExplainedOpinionSportVideoFeaturesEconomyHuman RightsClimate CrisisInvestigationsInteractivesIn PicturesScience & TechnologyPodcastsTravel Live Navigation menuUS-Israel war on IranLive updatesA visual guide to Iran’s coastlineWill force be used to reopen Strait of Hormuz?Iran's weaponsHow many people have been killed?How much more can Israelis take?Iran’s coastline: architecture of controlNewsFeedWe take you on a walkthrough of Iran’s coastline and strategic islands marking its architecture of control.Published On 4 Apr 2026
Navigating Conflict: Legal Dimensions of Iran's Control over the Strait ...
by MD MUNEEB HUSSAIN Can Iran lawfully restrict one of the world’s most important shipping routes during armed conflict? The answer is less clear than it should be. While Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz fall short of a formal blockade, they still expose commercial vessels to growing legal and military risks. The real problem lies deeper: a fragmented legal framework where States disagree on the rules themselves. In this grey zone, law does not prevent conflict, it reshapes it. A Chokepoint Where Law Meets Power The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most strategically important waterways in the world. A large share of global oil passes through this narrow corridor between Iran and Oman. Any disruption here affects not just regional actors but the global economy. In recent developments, tensions involving Iran, the United States, and Israel have turned this passage into a legal and military flashpoint. Ships have been detained, attacked, and escorted by naval forces. These incidents raise a basic but urgent question: what does international law actually allow in such a situation? Iran has not established a lawful blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. But its actions still create serious risks for commercial shipping. These risks arise not only from military escalation, but from disagreement about the law itself. Why the Strait Matters in Law To understand the dispute, we must begin with a simple point: not all sea routes are treated equally under international law. The Strait of Hormuz is an “international strait.” This means it connects two larger bodies of water and is used for global navigation. Because of its narrow width, the territorial waters of Iran and Oman overlap. As a result, ships cannot pass through without entering coastal State waters. Normally, States control their territorial waters. But international straits are different. Because they are vital for global trade, international law limits how much control coastal States can exercise. The key issue is what kind of navigation rights apply. Two Competing Rules of Passage At the heart of the dispute are two legal regimes: transit passage and innocent passage. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, international straits are governed by transit passage. This is a strong and practical rule. It allows ships and aircraft to move through the strait without delay. Submarines can stay underwater. Aircraft can fly overhead. Most importantly, coastal States cannot suspend this right. ...
Anatomy of Epic Fury: Dismantling Iran's Military
The Strategic Landscape: Iran's A2/AD Architecture To understand the sheer scale and tactical necessity of the methods employed during Operation Epic Fury, one must first understand the military doctrine Iran spent forty years perfecting.
Mosaic Resilience: Iran and the New Art of Decentralized Attrition -
These relationships amplify distributed operations without centralising control, enabling Iran to maintain tempo under sustained pressure. The system thus functions as a multi-domain network in which military, economic, ideological, and geopolitical elements reinforce one another.
