"The Legal Status of the Bab al-Mandab Strait". What if Iran and Israel align? (Research Paper)

The Bab al-Mandab Strait is one of the most important straits and waterways, which connects the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden. It is increasingly important due to its geographical location between two waterways, the Strait of Hormuz and the Suez Canal, where more than 80% of Arab oil passes through it to Europe and America. Located in the southern part of the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandab Strait is a natural strait with a distance of approximately 30 km (20 nautical miles) between its banks.

The Bab al-Mandab Strait is located within the territorial sea of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (later the Republic of Yemen), i.e. within the twelve nautical miles of the state, and this is measured by the baseline of Perim Island, located in the middle of the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

In terms of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, it falls within the territorial waters of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (later the Republic of Yemen), the Republic of Djibouti and the Republic of Eritrea.

It can also be noted that no agreements have been signed by the countries bordering the Bab al-Mandab Strait regarding the regulation of navigation therein.

Article 1 of the Yemeni Maritime Law No. 37 of 1991 stipulates that waters on the side extending towards the continental and island territory of the line measured from the territorial sea are territorial waters.

This confirms that the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is divided by the island of Perim into two straits:

1. The small strait ranges in width between (3-15) nautical miles approximately and a length of (3) nautical miles, and it is located entirely within the territorial sea of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (later the Republic of Yemen), that is, between the island of Perim and the interior coast of the state, which is an undisputed historical right of the southern state, as it had and still has full sovereignty over it and regulates international navigation in it, in accordance with international law and national legislation.
2. The Great Strait is located in the other direction of the island of Perim and is approximately (10) nautical miles long and (10.5) nautical miles wide and is located between the island of Perim and the African coast.

Thus, the width of the total small and large strait exceeds (12) nautical miles by a small percentage, which shows that part of the strait is located within international waters, i.e. outside (12) nautical miles defined by the state as the territorial waters of the state, so the Yemeni state regulates navigation in it in accordance with the provisions of international law, international conventions and national legislation.

The regime on straits does not affect the legal regime of waters outside the territorial seas bordering the strait as exclusive economic zones or from the high seas, which indicates that the internal waters of any sovereign State are not affected.

The Yemeni Maritime Act No. 15 of 1994 affirms that the competent maritime authority may take prompt and appropriate legal measures in the event of a violation by a foreign ship of the laws and regulations in force with regard to the safety of navigation and the regulation of maritime traffic in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Cargo ships coming from the Islamic Republic of Iran loaded with weapons, explosives and others loaded with drugs have been seized since 2011, as well as boats and ships carrying migrants from the Horn of Africa and others working to smuggle goods, fuel and others.

Legal basis for the regulation of navigation in the Bab al-Mandab Strait

International law has given the authorities of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (later the Republic of Yemen) the right to control the strait and the exclusive economic zone in its vicinity, as they fall within the territorial waters of the southern state, which has the largest continental shelf in the region, but the state is not entitled to stop land passage in its territorial waters, all under normal circumstances.

International law also gave the state the right to protect its territory and intercept enemy ships that pose a threat to its national security in exceptional circumstances and in wars, such as Iranian ships caught carrying weapons in support of the Houthi group, ships and boats carrying illegal immigrants from the Horn of Africa, or ships smuggling goods.

As happened in the October 6, 1973 war between Egypt and the Zionist occupation forces, the leadership of the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen took a decision to prevent the Zionist enemy ships from passing through the strait and preventing its supply through the strait.

This indicates that the Bab al-Mandab Strait is subject to the sovereignty of the southern state, and the state is the one who regulates navigation in it without any international interference, abiding by international law, international treaties and national legislation.

Organization of navigation in the Bab al-Mandab Strait in light of internal armed conflict and Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations

The Bab al-Mandab Strait is located within the geographical scope and territorial waters of the State of the South (G.I.D.S.), which entered into an agreement declaring unity with the Yemen Arab Republic on May 22, 1990.

Since the signing of the Declaration of Unity until before July 7, 1994, the people of the south were subjected to abuse and assassination of their leadership cadres and payment before the northern leadership to explode a civil war and organize the south on the basis of the return of the branch to the origin and change the southern identity and the historical and cultural monuments of the people of the south, and among what the south was subjected to the skinning of some southern regions and their administrative annexation to northern governorates, which happened in the annexation of the Bab al-Mandab Strait administratively to the northern governorate of Taiz.

The northern forces invaded the land of the south by military force in 1994 and issued fatwas accusing the people of the south of the south and giving the north the right to seize everything in the south, which was recorded as a brutal occupation whose features still exist until this moment.

After 1994, the regime of the Republic of Yemen has been subjected to major failures and conflicts, the most important of which was the difference between political and tribal leaders over the sharing of wealth and land of the south, which was and still resists the occupation.

These bloody conflicts between the poles of the regime in the north have resulted in the disintegration and weakness of the state, the collapse of the economic system and the metaphor of civil war since 2010 and until this moment, which called on the international community to put Yemen under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, and the intervention of the international community represented by the Arab coalition countries led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and this resulted in the liberation of more than 80% of the territory of the southern state (the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen) at the hands of the southern resistance and the establishment of a political entity representing the south Southern Transitional Council.

Definition of Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations and its repercussions on navigation in the Bab al-Mandab Strait:

Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, numbering (19) chapters containing (111) articles, was signed in June 1945 in San Francisco at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on the System of the International Body, and entered into force on October 14, 1945.

Chapter VII (13) of the Charter of the United Nations, starting with Article (39) and ending with Article (51), and Chapter VII is one of the most dangerous and harshest chapters applied, as the sovereignty of States is violated and becomes under international administration, and military intervention is carried out by taking punitive economic, political, diplomatic and other measures. According to the text of Article (41), direct military intervention is also carried out as a coercive measure through aerial and naval bombardment, and land intervention in accordance with the text of Article (42).

The status of Yemen, its administration and its resolutions subject to Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations are no longer an internal affair, but have become under the watchful eye of the international community represented by the Arab coalition countries and the member states of the United Nations Security Council as supervisors and interveners in internal affairs, including waterways, the most important of which is the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The nature of international intervention in the Bab al-Mandab Strait according to Chapter VII applicable to the Republic of Yemen

The Bab al-Mandab Strait has been and is under real threat of seizure by the Islamic Republic of Iran through its arm in Yemen, Ansar Allah al-Houthi, who invaded the southern capital Aden by armed force in 2015, and the Republic of Iran provided them with weapons and missiles through ships, some of which were seized by international forces in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and Yemeni territorial waters.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz more than once, threatening international shipping and the transport of Gulf oil to the rest of the world.

The Iranian state also worked to threaten navigation in the Red Sea through its military presence in Mina (Massawa) and its presence in some countries of the Horn of Africa, where in 2011 a cargo ship coming from Iran loaded with weapons and explosives, including SAM-2 and (SAM-3) anti-aircraft missiles, was secretly landed on Yemeni shores in support of the Houthis.

On March 25, 2015, Houthi forces advanced towards Al-Anad Air Base near the southern capital of Aden, heading towards the Red Sea port of Makha leading to the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Arab coalition and international forces have also thwarted numerous Iranian attempts to smuggle weapons to their Houthi supporters via Iranian boats and ships.

Not to mention the seizure of ships loaded with drugs and illegal immigrants from the Horn of Africa, some of whom are being recruited to fight alongside Houthi forces.

Iran's regional project is very clear, which is to achieve the greatest spread and influence at the Arab and regional levels.

Iran's ambitions will not stop at entering the Houthi conflict in Yemen, as a supporting force only, but it also has another presence in the State of Eritrea, where it maintains a military presence in the Assab region in exchange for providing the Asmara government with oil at a reduced price, in addition to Iran, which maintains training camps for the Houthis in Eritrea.   

If Iran and Israel are no less dangerous in their quest to control the Red Sea, it would give these two countries strong control over the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait and control of international navigation.

The first countries affected by the closure of the Bab al-Mandab Strait or its control by Iran, Israel or any hostile power will be the South State, the Arab Republic of Egypt and the Gulf States, led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Arab Republic of Egypt has worked to enter the Arab coalition in Yemen, as the threats to the Bab al-Mandab Strait are in fact threats to Egyptian national security and the Suez Canal, especially since 98% of ship traffic passes through the Suez Canal and comes through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the importance of the strait comes from being linked to the Suez Canal and the Strait of Hormuz.

In the face of all this, the international community did not stand idly by, but it adopted many decisions and sanctions against figures from the Houthis and the former regime, and adopted Resolution 2216 on April 14, 2015 to prevent the flow of weapons to the Houthis.

The only way out to confront regional interventions, the Houthi tide, the threat to international navigation in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea, and to ensure the continuation of navigation and the flow of ships through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, is to support the liberation of the south and support the Southern Transitional Council by restoring the state of the south, recognizing it and supporting it politically, economically and militarily in order to maintain local and international peace and security.