Western Leaders Demand Iran Reopen Strait of Hormuz as Oil Prices Rise

Western leaders have urged the Iranian regime to reopen the waterway, through which a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas transits. Prolonged closure is driving up global oil prices and damaging economic growth prospects across the EU. Kallas, the EU's foreign policy chief, wrote on X that "under international law, transit through waterways like the Strait of Hormuz must remain open and free of charge." But the Iranian regime poured scorn on Kallas' assertion. "Oh, that 'international law'?! The one that the EU dusts off to lecture others while quietly green-lighting a U.S.-Israeli war of aggression — and looking the other way on atrocities against Iranians?!" Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesperson at the Iranian foreign ministry, wrote on X. In a stinging rebuke, Baqaei said that "no rule of international law forbids Iran, the coastal State, from taking necessary measures to stop the Strait of Hormuz being used for waging military aggression against Iran." He added that "unconditional transit passage" in Hormuz is not possible after "U.S./Israeli aggression brought U.S. military assets into the strait's backyard." Several countries signed up to a joint statement calling for the "unconditional, unrestricted, and immediate re-opening of the Strait of Hormuz" after French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer convened an international meeting in Paris last week to discuss the situation. Peace talks between the U.S. and Iran collapsed after negotiators achieved a short-lived truce earlier this month. One of the thorniest issues in the negotiations is Tehran's unwillingness to end its nuclear enrichment program — which is a key priority for the U.S. and Israel.