'No countries' have right to close Hormuz: UN maritime chief slams Trump

Trump on Monday (April 13) threatened naval blockade of Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Taking to Truth Social he said, "The United States to Blockade Ships Entering or Exiting Iranian Ports on April 13 at 10:00 AM ET". The pressure campaign comes after the 21 hour ceasefire negotiation in Islamabad, Pakistan failed to yield any result.

The threat by Trump has invoked sharp reaction from the International Maritime Organization's Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez.

"In accordance to international law, no countries have the right to prohibit the right of innocent passage or the freedom of navigation through international straits that are used for international transit," said Dominguez at a news conference.

He however, said the blockade announced by US is unlikely to impact shipping, with traffic already paralysed by the US-Iran war. Dominguez further said there is "no legal mechanism" under international law to impose tolls on key maritime straits.

Iran minister says “we dominate the maritime borders”

Amid Trump threat of "blocking ships entering or exiting Iranian Ports on April 13", Tehran said the country faces "no serious" security concerns along its borders, including its maritime borders. Iran's deputy interior minister Ali Zeinivand while speaking to the media on Monday said, “We have such deep and comprehensive control there, and metre-by-metre we dominate the borders, that we did not even give the enemy the opportunity to plan anything.”