Dr Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and managing director and group chief executive of Adnoc, has called for the Strait of Hormuz to be opened with “no strings attached”.
“This moment requires clarity. So let’s be clear: the Strait of Hormuz is not open. Access is being restricted, conditioned and controlled,” Dr Al Jaber said in a post on LinkedIn.
He said Iran had made clear, through both its statements and actions, that passage was subject to permission, conditions and political leverage.
“That is not freedom of navigation,” Dr Al Jaber added. “That is coercion.”
“The Strait was not built, engineered, financed or constructed by any state. It is a natural passage governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which guarantees transit as a matter of right, not a privilege to be granted, withheld or weaponised. Conditional passage is not passage. It is control by another name.”
He said the strait must be fully open, unconditionally and without restriction. “Energy security and global economic stability depend on it.
“The weaponisation of this vital waterway, in any form, cannot stand. This would set a dangerous precedent for the world.”
He added that such actions would undermine the principle of freedom of navigation that underpins global trade and, ultimately, the stability of the global economy.
Dr Al Jaber also said energy producers must be able to swiftly and safely restore production at scale.
“At Adnoc, we have loaded cargoes and will expand production within the constraints of the damage we have suffered,” he added.
“We have a responsibility to our customers and partners to move them, as long as the safety of our people is ensured.
“Every day the strait remains restricted, the consequences compound. Supply is delayed, markets tighten and prices rise,.
“The impact is felt beyond energy markets, in economies, industries and households worldwide. Every day matters. Every delay deepens the disruption.”
