Message from 22 countries regarding the Strait of Hormuz

International reaction is growing against Iran's actions that threaten navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The number of countries joining a joint stance led by nations including France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and Italy has risen to 22. These countries have announced that they will provide all possible contributions to ensure the safety of passage for commercial and civilian vessels.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced in a statement that they are also part of this joint stance. With the latest additions, in addition to the UAE, Canada, Bahrain, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, Czechia, Romania, Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Slovenia, and New Zealand have also joined the list of countries signing this commitment.

On March 19, it was announced to the public that the leaders of France, Germany, the UK, Italy, Japan, and the Netherlands had issued a joint statement aimed at protecting freedom of navigation in the region. In this text, it was reported that all actions carried out by Iran, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and attacks targeting unarmed commercial vessels and oil and natural gas facilities in the Gulf, were condemned in the strongest terms.

The statement included the following expressions: "We strongly condemn the recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure, particularly oil and natural gas facilities, and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by the Iranian Armed Forces."

The joint declaration, which pointed out that the deterioration of the security environment in the region is alarming, emphasized that Iran must immediately end its threats, naval mine-laying activities, drone and missile attacks, and moves that disrupt commercial navigation, and must comply with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2817.

The statement continued as follows: "Freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle of international law, and the global impacts of Iran's actions cannot be ignored. External interference with global shipping and the disruption of the energy supply chain are threats to world peace and security."

News Source: 12punto