The Facts On 27 May 2022 the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) announced the seizure of two Greek-flagged oil tankers, which sailed in international waters, 22 nautical miles from the Iranian coast (see here the statement quoted by the Iranian State news agency IRNA). The IRGC helicopters landed onboard the Greek vessels “Delta Poseidon” and “Prudent Warrior” and captured the crew. The ships were then directed to Iranian territorial waters, where they are currently anchored, and the crew was transported on shore, under house arrest. Both the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Hellenic Coast Guard characterised this action as an act of piracy and protested for the seizure of the vessels (see here the official announcement of the Greek MFA and here the announcement of the Coast Guard in Greek). According to other Iranian State news agencies, the two ships were seized in retaliation for Greece’s seizure of an Iranian oil tanker near the coast of the island of Evia due to EU…
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The Law and Tech of Two Targeted Killings
The New York Times recently published two fascinating pieces on two separate instances of targeted killings. The first is on the tragic denouement of the 20 years of US presence in Afghanistan – a drone strike conducted on 29 August by the US military in Kabul, purportedly against terrorists planning a second deadly attack against…
US Mistreatment towards Iran’s Representatives to the UN: Is Iran Initiating the Third Case against the US at the ICJ?
In recent years, some visa applications for Iran's representatives to the UN have been rejected by the US. Also, Iran's representatives to the UN may only travel between the Iranian U.N. mission, the Iranian U.N. ambassador’s residence, John F. Kennedy airport, and the UN, and they would need authorization to go beyond a 25-mile (40-kilometer) radius (see…
Defining military activities in outer space: the launching of the Iranian satellite Nour 1
The Iranian satellite, Nour 1, operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was launched on 22 April 2020. The US Space Force (USSF) tracked Nour 1 and its final stage in orbit and added orbital tracking data and orbital parameters for two objects from the launch, the satellite and the rocket third stage, independently confirming the result…
The Extraterritorial Application of the Fair and Equitable Standard: The 1955 US-Iran Treaty of Amity before the International Court of Justice
Introduction In July 2018, Iran brought claims against the United States (US) before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The former alleged breaches of certain treaty provisions of the 1955 Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Right between the United States of America and Iran (1955 Treaty) because of the latter’s (re)imposition of sanctions…