Colin Clark

Does Iran have the legal right to create checkpoints in the Strait of Hormuz? According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982, they do not. However, Iran signed but never ratified UNCLOS 1982, similar to the United States. As a result, Iran reverts to UNCLOS 1958. The key difference between the two conventions is that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 designates the Strait of Hormuz as an international strait, allowing for "transit passage." In contrast, UNCLOS 1958 refers to international straits with "innocent passage." The term "innocent passage" permits foreign vessels to navigate through a coastal state's territorial waters without prior authorization, provided their passage is considered "innocent," meaning it does not threaten the peace, good order, or security of the coastal state. Under the rules of UNCLOS 1958, Iran can enforce its domestic laws in the Iranian part of the Strait concerning: - Safety of navigation - Pollution prevention - Security and surveillance Iran asserts that the United States cannot enjoy the rights of "transit passage" as defined in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), arguing that the U.S. only has the right of "innocent passage" since it never ratified UNCLOS 1982. In response, the U.S. dismisses this claim, stating that "transit passage" has become a principle of "customary law." This means that if all countries adhere to a particular practice for decades, it becomes legally binding, regardless of whether the treaty has been ratified.

BREAKING: HOLY SMOKES! Bombshell report accuses Trump and Rubio of "the largest fraud in the history of the U.S. immigration system" amounting to over $1.3 billion stolen from migrants. And the details will absolutely enrage you... According to the Cato Institute, a right-wing think tank, Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and outgoing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem extracted at least $1.3 billion from migrants in fees for visa processing and other immigration services that they never intended to provide. They took the money, then took no steps to hold up their end of the agreement. The administration is taking money from immigrant hopefuls from over 90 countries despite the fact that Trump's own xenophobic travel bans have made it so that those same people are "banned from receiving immigrant visas and immigrating permanently to the United States." Trump is having it both ways: taking the money he would get for allowing immigration while simultaneously blocking that immigration. "During testimony before the US Senate, I called it the largest fraud in the history of the US immigration system. In fact, it is likely the first $1 billion fraud—a theft of processing fees for services never rendered," wrote David J. Bier for Cato. But the corruption goes so much deeper... Rubio's State Department has issued internal rules that prohibit his staff from informing the migrants in question that they have no chance of success and their money is essentially being stolen. It's a systemic graft operation. “Cubans represent the largest group of affected applicants with nearly a million affected applications at a combined cost of $543 million. The second most common was Venezuelans, with 239,000 applications at a cost of $138 million,” Cato reports. Cato estimates that over 2 million immigrant applicants were affected by the travel bans and had their money taken when there no intention on the part of the administration of rendering the services in question. "The fees came primarily from applications for work permits and filings to adjust status to permanent residence or immigrant visas—the two ways in which people receive green cards to stay permanently in the United States," writes Bier. Congress must immediately investigate this blatant, rampant fraud and begin the long, difficult process of ensuring that every single victim is paid back with interest. These people came looking for a better life in the United States and were instead fleeced for what little money they had. This is a kind of cruelty and greed that could only exist with Donald Trump as president. Please ❤️ and share to demand full refunds!