Strait of Hormuz: Territorial Waters and Sovereign Rights of the State

News notes

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982) establishes the rules governing territorial waters and the rights associated with them.

As part of the preparations for the “Persian Gulf Council,” a territorial waters commission has been established to review the current territorial waters in accordance with the United Nations Convention.

The sole purpose of this commission is to map the boundaries of existing territorial waters and ensure that all parties are referring to the same areas and the same boundaries.

Territorial waters extend up to a maximum of 12 miles, and if the distance between the two opposing countries is less than 24 miles, the median line applies.

Each state has rights attached to its territorial waters:

  • A state’s sovereignty extends to its territorial waters.
  • Under certain circumstances, a sovereign state may prohibit certain civilian and military vessels from passing through its territorial waters.
  • The right of passage for other states through a strait is not automatic. There may be disputes and potential future changes to the 1982 Convention.

In any country, the military tends to view its sphere of influence as extending beyond territorial waters. This has no legal basis, and the belief that one is capable of exercising military control over what occurs in a neighbor’s territorial waters has no legal basis. It amounts to mere pretension.

Iran, like any country bordering the Persian Gulf, is a member of the preparatory commission, and its representative is expected to know at the very least the extent of its own territorial waters. We are not referring to the rights that its military might believe it has, in disregard of international law. Believing oneself to be militarily superior has no basis in international law and does not alter territorial waters or the rights associated with them. If a state’s representative on the commission were to present anything other than the reality recognized by the 1982 Convention, they would need to be corrected until they provide the correct information.

There may be disputes and potential disagreements: all of them must be noted, bearing in mind that the commission merely records the reality as it stands today, including any disputes and challenges. The commission will rule on the basis of the 1982 Convention should any proposals prove to be overly far-fetched.

Why is surveying territorial waters important?

Essentially, this is based on the fact that international rights are defined in relation to territorial waters.

One could imagine that the “Persian Gulf Council” might have a right of control over various territorial waters, such as those of Iran and Oman, but such a right would first have to be established through an agreement with the respective states. Each country may, within its own territorial waters, grant a right to the “Persian Gulf Council.” A state’s claim to assert rights in territorial waters other than its own is not a matter of law but of sheer confusion.

It is therefore particularly important that the territorial waters of each state be clearly delineated and recognized by all.

The Territorial Waters Commission will take no decision other than to survey the existing situation and have it validated by each State. A state of war may give rise to somewhat strange, even far-fetched, demands, but these do not fall within the scope of law.

The rights of each State over its territorial waters will automatically derive from this survey. If a “Persian Gulf Council” were ever established, it could be granted limited rights over territorial waters, but this would require a convention, treaty, or founding charter. However, there is a difference between a state’s claim to assert rights in its neighbor’s territorial waters and agreeing to a limited transfer of such rights to an international body created by states.

If asked how we will move forward on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, I would reply that we must begin with a precise and mutually agreed-upon survey by the territorial waters commission. A number of rights will automatically follow from this.

If the preparatory commission is never established, nothing will ever happen.

July 25, 2026

Naej DRANER (naej.draner@gmail.com)