Schrödinger's Kat

@DiackChris @RezaNasri1 No. A fee is allowed. Pay up, buttercup.

@InParadoxState @RezaNasri1 But Iran is bound by customary international law of the sea regarding charging a fee for innocent passage. Wont be allowed to stand.

Iran’s legal position regarding the Strait of Hormuz rests on a firm and multi-layered foundation in international law that has been consistently articulated, formally recorded, and never relinquished. First, the applicable treaty framework does not support the imposition of the “transit passage” regime on Iran. The UNCLOS introduced transit passage as a novel legal construct, granting expansive rights—including overflight and submerged navigation—to foreign military assets. However, Iran never ratified UNCLOS and explicitly rejected this regime upon signature. Under general principles of treaty law, a state cannot be bound by provisions of a treaty it has not ratified, particularly where it has expressly objected to those provisions at the time of signature. This position is reinforced by the doctrine of the persistent objector. Even if one assumes, arguendo, that transit passage has evolved into customary international law, Iran has consistently and openly rejected its applicability. As such, it is not bound by that rule. Second, in the absence of a universally binding transit passage regime, the governing law reverts to earlier treaty law and customary principles, most notably the 1958 Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone. Both Iran and key user states such as the United States are not parties to UNCLOS, creating a legal vacuum in which reliance on earlier treaty regimes is not only appropriate but necessary. Under this framework, the right of passage through territorial seas is not unlimited. It is conditioned on innocent passage, a well-established rule allowing coastal states to regulate navigation to protect their security and public order. Crucially, innocent passage excludes activities that threaten the coastal state, including military operations, intelligence gathering, and acts connected to hostile conduct. Third, the geographic reality of the Strait of Hormuz strengthens Iran’s legal position. The navigable channels lie entirely within the overlapping territorial seas of Iran and Oman. This is not a high seas corridor but a maritime space subject to coastal sovereignty, albeit qualified by navigational rights. That sovereignty carries with it the right to adopt and enforce laws necessary to safeguard national security. Fourth, even under UNCLOS itself, the regime of non-suspendable innocent passage remains a legally recognized alternative in certain straits. This regime is more restrictive than transit passage and explicitly allows the coastal state to take necessary steps to prevent passage that is not innocent. Iran’s interpretation is therefore not a legal aberration, but a plausible reading grounded in existing law. Fifth, and most critically in the present context, the law of armed conflict and the UN Charter fundamentally alter the legal landscape. Following an unlawful use of force against it, Iran is entitled to invoke its inherent right of self-defense. In such circumstances, the legal characterization of passage cannot be divorced from the realities of hostilities. Vessels and aircraft associated with belligerent states—or facilitating military operations—cannot claim protected navigational rights while simultaneously contributing to acts of aggression. International law has never required a state to permit its own territorial sea to be used as a conduit for hostile operations. On the contrary, the right of self-defense permits proportionate measures to prevent such exploitation. Conditioning passage on neutrality and non-hostility is therefore not only lawful but necessary to uphold the integrity of that right. Finally, the conduct of other states further undermines any claim that Iran’s position is exceptional. The United States itself is not a party to UNCLOS yet selectively invokes its provisions as customary law when convenient.

@DiackChris @RezaNasri1 As I have said. So they're not bound by it. Glad you agreed your point is bs.

@InParadoxState @RezaNasri1 You are an idiot. Iran and the US and Israel are not state parties to UNCLOS.

@DiackChris @RezaNasri1 No it isn't. During wartime, law of maritime warfare also supersedes UNCLOS and allows a legitimate blockade. & it is providing actual services. Funny how much pearl clutching is being done about Iran charging a fee, which is legal, but not about the ILLEGAL WAR CRIMES of US

@InParadoxState @RezaNasri1 If you are going to spout such nonsense change your name. Iran is bound by customary international law of the sea. No fee on innocent passage unless its for specified actual services rendered. Open and shut.

@DiackChris @RezaNasri1 Since iran didn't ratify UNCLOS it is not bound by any of its rules, yet even those rules allow Iran to charge a fee as it is its territorial waters. That fact it didn't before is irrelevant. It can start doing so when it wants. it is providing guidance per tankers who've passed.

@InParadoxState @RezaNasri1 Iran never ratified UNCLOS/Geneva Conventions LOS. A fee can be charged for actual specified services incl those requested like pilotage. Cant just invent a fee for revenue to protect against risks that Iran either creates or cant address. No history of a fee for the strait

Yes the Strait of Hormuz being closed and gas prices being high are bad but also IRANIAN CHILDREN ARE BEING MURDERED and we should probably be much angrier about that.

Israel: • refuses to define its borders • refuses to allow UN inspectors to inspect its nuclear weapons program • refuses to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza, incl. food, water & medicine. Israel is a rogue, racist, apartheid terrorist state. #IsraeliTerrorism

@DiackChris @RezaNasri1 UNCLOS allows coastal states to charge a fee for passage if the state provides a service to the ship. This service can be security, navigational guidance (which it is currently doing to avoid possible mines), etc. which is the type of services being charged in other passages.

@RezaNasri1 Long posts on X are usually a give away. This is too. It fails to address the key point: contrary to customary international law (which binds Iran) it seeks to charge for innocent passage for flagged states that are not the US/Israel. It has zero legal basis to do this.

Maryam Mirzakhani, the first woman to win the Fields Medal in mathematics (the Nobel of mathematics), studied at Sharif University of Technology - which was just bombed by US-Israel. No US woman has ever win a Fields medal. The moral descent of USA continues lower and lower.

@eucopresident Another f*cking spineless, cowardly, lying, pathetic 'leader' that once again blames THE VICTIM OF AGGRESSION (Iran) & completely omits THE ATTACKER (US & Israel). What absolutely abominable hypocrites. You're doing the SAME thing Trump did to Ukraine blaming it instead of Russia

After five weeks of war in the Middle East, it is clear that only a diplomatic solution will settle its root causes. Any targeting of civilian infrastructure, namely energy facilities, is illegal and unacceptable. This applies to Russia’s war in Ukraine and it applies everywhere. The Iranian civilian population is the main victim of the Iranian regime. It would also be the main victim of a widening of the military campaign. As I stressed in my recent call with the President of Iran, @DrPezeshkian, the European Union urges Iran to immediately put an end to its attacks against countries in the region and to allow for the reestablishment of full freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Escalation will not achieve a ceasefire and peace. Only negotiations will, namely the ongoing efforts led by regional partners.

What is being sold to us as the ‘successful rescue of a trapped soldier’, at a cost of some lives and hundreds of millions $, looks more like a completely botched ground operation.

I took the time to find the exact video in question. If you say nasty things about these people blocking aid trucks and destroying food, it makes more headlines than the people they are starving.

While we were trapped in northern Gaza and the bombardment intensified, I decided to move to the south to escape death. There was an Israeli army checkpoint. When my wife, my children, and I crossed, an Israeli soldier shouted at me, telling me to lower my head to the ground. He ordered me loudly to say that Palestine does not exist and to say that I am a rat. Sadly, I said it — I even said I was a rat. Not because I was afraid for myself, but because I was afraid they might kill my children in front of me, or kill me and leave my children alone after me. I remembered this moment now, and today I say it openly: Palestine is our land, and you occupied it. One day it will be free. I am not a rat — and you know that. You were standing with your weapon in front of my children, while I had nothing but the clothes I was wearing. I am not a rat, and Palestine is my homeland...

WHERE IS CONGRESS? We elected members of the Senate and House to be our representatives to the federal government, not to be spineless supplicants to whoever’s in the White House. American men are dying in combat, and more may be on the way to death, meanwhile, we are engaged in a full scale war w Iran, and Congress is so pathetic, they won’t even so much as have a vote on it. I’m not looking for a “blue wave” come this November, I want to see the whole bloody lot sent home. I would encourage all my fellow Americans to vote in every campaign, for an independent candidate. Seriously, we should vote every incumbent , from both GOP or DEM all out for their abdication of power. They do not deserve one dollar of their salaries, when they can’t keep the government open, or do their most elementary constitutional jobs.

In 2022, a petition to ban EU trade with settlements fell short of reaching the 1M signatures threshold over 1 year A new one demanding full suspension of the 🇪🇺-🇮🇱 Association Agreement is nearing 700K - in less than 3 months: eci.ec.europa.eu/055/public/#/s…

ISRAEL DID THIS TO LEBANESE HOMES! ISRAEL IS A TERRORIST STATE.

@TreyYingst So not only announcing war crimes but also THEFT of another countries resources. Why isn't someone sending this lunatic into the mad house? Are ppl in the US proud to be seen as a THIEVING nation? As grotesque robbers? It's nauseating to watch. #25thAmendment

NEW: "If they don't make a deal and fast, I'm considering blowing everything up and taking over the oil," President Trump told me. President Trump added that he believes he'll be able to get a deal with Iran by tomorrow.

@EricLDaugh The big plane landed in sand like an idiot & got stuck, couldn't get out, so others were left like sitting ducks & got blown up. Before this many locals in the area saw US planes BOMBING area where the lost airman was & posting online saying it looked like US wanted to kill him

🚨 HOLY CRAP! In the amazing rescue, US forces even destroyed two left behind C-130s that were used as a temporary forward operations base So Iran couldn’t salvage them We got our guy, NO wins for the enemy 🔥👏🏻 Iran losing hard on Easter!

I’ll take it a step further. Failing to invoke the 25th amendment at this point, is a violation of their own oaths to this country. It should be seen as nothing short of criminal negligence, and they should be held fully liable for the death and destruction that stems from this.

Fucking outrageous. And highly illegal. "Trump has grifted his entire life. Now he’s just taking it. The State Department transferred $1.25 billion in foreign aid to Trump’s Board of Peace, pulling $1 billion from international disaster assistance, $200 million from peacekeeping operations, and $50 million from international organizations. Money that Congress authorized for hurricanes and refugees, moved without a congressional vote, into a fund that Trump created by executive order and controls personally. When reporters asked the State Department about it, a spokesperson said they had nothing to announce at this time. The Board of Peace has one defining characteristic. Trump controls it forever. He named himself chairman for life. No audits. No transparency requirements. No conflict of interest rules. Countries pay $1 billion into a fund he runs to get a seat at the table. It has transferred nothing to Gaza, disclosed nothing about its spending, and received $1.25 billion of your disaster relief money without a word of explanation. When he leaves the White House he keeps the fund. That is not a loophole. That is the design." He’s Not Grifting Anymore. He’s Just Taking It. open.substack.com/pub/meidastouc…

@ChrisMurphyCT You are a CONGRESSMAN so bleeping DO SOMETHING instead of telling others to do it. It's your job. All of Congress, to remove this stark raving lunatic that will start WW3. DO SOMETHING. Impeach him. Prepare a 25th amendment bill or something. Call the insane asylum. Anything!

If I were in Trump's Cabinet, I would spend Easter calling constitutional lawyers about the 25th Amendment. This is completely, utterly unhinged. He's already killed thousands. He's going to kill thousands more.