Tehran Criticizes IMO Draft's Selective Narrative

Iran has submitted an official document to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Council, rejecting a draft initiated by the United Arab Emirates and its allies. Iran claims it is a politically motivated and legally unfounded step that exceeds the council's technical mandate. 

Tehran notes that the Strait of Hormuz and maritime traffic in the region are open, but Iran controls the safety of traffic. According to Iran, the IMO must refrain from political statements and remain a technical and neutral forum, reported the Iranian news agency IRNA.

The draft (C 137/16/4) is a political-legal text submitted by the United Arab Emirates and its allies to the IMO Council, focusing on the maritime security crisis in the Strait of Hormuz, the Persian Gulf, and the Sea of Oman, and primarily placing responsibility on Iran.

The draft was based on earlier decisions by the IMO Council and committees condemning Iranian attacks on merchant ships and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. 

A central theme of Tehran's response document is that Iran sees itself as a victim of US and Israeli aggression, not as a cause of maritime risks. Tehran argues that the draft (C 137/16/4) proposed to the council uses a "selective and politically motivated narrative" that reverses roles and aims to turn the IMO into a tool of political pressure against one member state. 

Iran warns that if the council begins to decide on state responsibility, sovereignty, and disputed legal issues, it will undermine the IMO's impartial and technical character.

The document argues that the "root cause" of current maritime risks in the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Strait of Hormuz is the use of force by the US and Israel against Iran, supported and facilitated by some regional countries, particularly the United Arab Emirates. 

Iran describes the extent of the damage: according to Tehran, 116 incidents involving 367 ships have been registered during the war and ceasefire period, 254 of which were reportedly sunk or completely destroyed. Dozens of sailors have been killed and injured. From this, Tehran concludes that a country whose territory and infrastructure are used to support such attacks cannot credibly act as a neutral defender of maritime safety.

Iran accuses the drafters of separating alleged consequences from their causes, ignoring blockades, coercive restrictions, and armed interventions against Iranian shipping and ports. This, according to Tehran, creates a "selective narrative" that documents claims about Iranian actions but ignores aggression against Iran and its impact on shipping, the environment, and maritime safety infrastructure.