For what it’s worth, neither Iran nor the United States have actually signed and ratified the UNCLOS and therefore are not actually members of it nor bound by its rules.
The maritime treaties are the ones that I assume the most countries have signed, because they rely on such old principles, but I didn’t go check details on this one.
EDIT: Damn it, you made me go down a Law of the Sea rabbit hole, what with your “facts”.
The US hasn’t ratified UNCLOS, you’re right. But it did both sign and ratify the 1958 Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, which guarantees the right of innocent passage, which is what is at issue here. Iran also signed this treaty, though never ratified.
Further, both the US and Iran signed UNCLOS, even though neither has ratified.
Further still, Oman, who is the other half of this agreement with Iran, has both signed and ratified UNCLOS.
For what it’s worth, neither Iran nor the United States have actually signed and ratified the UNCLOS and therefore are not actually members of it nor bound by its rules.
This is a very good point, have an upvote.
The maritime treaties are the ones that I assume the most countries have signed, because they rely on such old principles, but I didn’t go check details on this one.
EDIT: Damn it, you made me go down a Law of the Sea rabbit hole, what with your “facts”.
The US hasn’t ratified UNCLOS, you’re right. But it did both sign and ratify the 1958 Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, which guarantees the right of innocent passage, which is what is at issue here. Iran also signed this treaty, though never ratified.
Further, both the US and Iran signed UNCLOS, even though neither has ratified.
Further still, Oman, who is the other half of this agreement with Iran, has both signed and ratified UNCLOS.
The US also supported the definition of innocent passage in a 1989 joint statement with the USSR.