امیرنظام براتی

Background and Theoretical Foundations : The phenomenon of maritime piracy and maritime terrorism has long posed a persistent threat to international maritime security and the global economy. In recent decades, especially in the Gulf of Aden, Bab el-Mandeb, and northern Indian Ocean, piracy has evolved into a transnational organized crime with political, military, and economic implications. The Islamic Republic of Iran, relying on its strategic naval doctrine and regional maritime presence, has taken an active role in combating piracy, particularly through the operations of the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (NEDAJA). This study draws upon international criminal law, international public law, customary law, and Iranian domestic legal frameworks to assess the legal, operational, and normative roles of Iran’s strategic navy in response to piracy and maritime terrorism . Methodology : The study employs a qualitative and comparative legal-analytical approach. It draws from a wide range of primary and secondary sources, including conventions such as the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the SUA Convention (1988), resolutions of the United Nations Security Council, Iranian national legislation, military doctrinal documents, and recent judicial reports. Additionally, scholarly literature and Persian-language defense and legal analyses were translated into English and used to frame the domestic response within broader international criminal accountability mechanisms. Case studies of Iranian naval interventions in piracy incidents over the last decade—especially the rescue of foreign vessels—are critically examined.   Findings : Iran’s navy has played a pivotal role in securing major sea lanes and protecting Iranian and foreign commercial vessels. Despite Iran’s non-ratification of UNCLOS, its practical compliance with international norms—including principles of universal jurisdiction and hot pursuit—demonstrates its functional alignment with international obligations. However, challenges remain in domestic law, including the absence of specialized maritime criminal courts, limited procedural clarity regarding extradition and prosecution of foreign pirates, and insufficient institutional transparency. Nonetheless, the Iranian legal system provides certain unique tools, such as military judicial authority over transnational maritime offenses, which enhance responsiveness . Conclusion : Iran’s strategic naval actions contribute significantly to regional anti-piracy operations, reinforcing its soft power and legitimacy in maritime governance. From the standpoint of international criminal law, these actions, when paired with reforms in legal codification and international cooperation, can enhance Iran’s role as a responsible maritime actor. The study recommends updating domestic criminal codes to explicitly criminalize piracy in accordance with international law, establishing maritime judicial training, and expanding bilateral treaties to facilitate extradition and mutual legal assistance .

Background and Theoretical Foundations : The Bab al-Mandeb Strait constitutes one of the most strategically significant international waterways, serving as a vital maritime corridor linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the wider Indian Ocean. Its geopolitical sensitivity arises from the convergence of regional rivalries, global power competition, and the presence of non-state threats, all of which have transformed the Strait into a critical arena for maritime security governance. Under the international law of the sea—particularly the principles governing straits used for international navigation—state behavior in this region carries profound legal and strategic implications. For Iran, whose economy and energy exports rely heavily on secure maritime routes, developments in the Bab al-Mandeb directly affect national interests and influence the direction of its maritime diplomacy. Methodology : This research adopts a descriptive-analytical approach, drawing upon international legal instruments, geopolitical analyses, security studies, and academic literature published between 2000 and 2024. By examining regional dynamics, the involvement of global naval powers, and the practices of coastal states, the study evaluates how these intertwined legal and geopolitical factors shape the Strait’s security environment. The research further analyzes Iran’s maritime diplomacy and strategic naval deployments within the framework of customary international law and UNCLOS principles. Findings : The analysis indicates that the Bab al-Mandeb Strait has become increasingly affected by multilayered geopolitical competition, including regional conflicts, great-power rivalry, and the activities of non-state actors. These conditions have amplified the vulnerability of maritime traffic and heightened the need for effective cooperative security mechanisms. Within this context, Iran’s maritime diplomacy—centered on legal compliance, anti-piracy operations, and bilateral cooperation with Red Sea littoral states—has contributed to safeguarding its sea lines of communication. Iran’s strategic naval presence in the northern Indian Ocean and near the Bab al-Mandeb has enhanced maritime security, strengthened its legal standing as a responsible maritime actor, and supported the stability of international navigation. Conclusion : The findings demonstrate that the security of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait is deeply influenced by the legal and geopolitical behavior of regional and global actors. Iran’s reliance on maritime diplomacy and strategically justified naval presence constitutes an essential component of its broader security and foreign policy. While geopolitical tensions continue to challenge the stability of this critical chokepoint, Iran’s legally grounded maritime engagement provides opportunities for strengthening regional cooperation, enhancing navigational safety, and safeguarding national interests. Future research should explore multilateral legal frameworks and confidence-building measures that could reduce tensions and support sustainable security governance in international straits.

The correlation between the sea and the ship with scientific and technological progress and human needs in the field of trade and transportation, and the existence of inspection and observatory control in territories and their safety has caused the attention of organizations and countries to its effectiveness. On the other hand, it caused promoted productivity through the use of skilled manpower on the ship. Undoubtedly, creating universal and acceptable regulations is important so that they can be turned into law. Definitely, in this law, attention should be paid to the evaluation of the prospect of sea events and it can be predicted. Factors such as affreightment, collisions at sea, ship damage, and maritime rescue can be among these rules and clarify the purposes of a safe sea. On the other hand, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) works very actively and effectively in the direction of the compilation of these regulations and laws. It should be noted that with the progress of the shipping industry and the expansion of the sea boundaries, it is better that these laws become updated and more preventive and practical. Therefore, new standards in the maritime transport industry must be pursued by the World Maritime Organization and with a survey of the member countries, more attention should be paid to the security, speed, and services of the ports and sailing of the countries. Although one of the appreciable achievements of the World Maritime Organization has been the transformation of unsafe traditional ports into safe modern ports. But it seems that the diversity of sea transportation with regard to commodity exchanges requires the implementation of a more legal and regulatory strategy. In this article certainly, attention has been paid to the importance and fundamental role of the World Maritime Organization, because the most important basis of maritime transport is the ship. It should be noted that the ship has an independent identity and personality. On the other hand, the diversity in the utilization of ships in the aspects of commerce, public services, military, and the diversity of ship types requires special standardization and proficient implementation.

The government of Iran has signed the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea1982, but in the past 40 years since Iran signed this convention and 28 years after the implementation of this convention in 1994, the government has always refused to approve this convention, which is the most important convention in the field of maritime and no plan or bill has been presented in the government or parliament for its approval. In this article, using the analytical descriptive method, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and legal doubts of Iran regarding this convention, which is actually the most important regulation in the field of the law of the sea, are examined and finally, a fundamental analysis is provided to resolve Iran's concerns in the direction of ratifying this convention. The results of this research show that Iran can enjoy its benefits such as maritime technology transfer and other benefits by joining this convention. In terms of the threats and weaknesses of this convention regarding the innocent passage of naval vessels in the territorial waters of Iran, it is possible to remove this threat as a precondition of prior notification and obtaining prior permission or both for the innocent passage from the territorial sea based on the practice of countries such as China, India, Pakistan, Sweden, Bulgaria, Poland and other countries. In the discussion of the Strait of Hormuz and the transit passage based on the provisions of the law of the sea Convention, by creating the non-suspendable innocent passage in peacetime, the weaknesses of this Convention regarding the internationalization of the Strait of Hormuz can be modified by creating a special regime for  the strait, considering that in The narrowest part of the Strait is the territorial waters of Iran and Oman, it is excluded from transit passage.                     

Industry of navigation is one of the most important pillars of world’s economy so that According to statistics More than 90% percent of the world’s goods are transferred by merchant ship lines .According to the latest statistics of 2105, 10 billion tons of goods, equivalent to $ 4 trillion, have been transferred by sea and the global economy is dependent on maritime transport, and the lack of it is causing countries to face the crisis. Therefore the establishment of decent work in environments of merchant ships for seafarers has fundamental importance and inevitable effects on economic in national and international level. Merchant ships of the world that are registered in more than 150 countries employed approximately more than 1.5 million of seafarers and this industry also has 10,000 seamen In Iran that in general they considered as marine workers. This study using analytical – descriptive, consider the International Labor Standards and Decent Work factors with glance of maritime security and safety and IMO standard for People at sea.Findings of this study show that marine works are very hard and chore in terms of physical and mental effects. In fact the convention express fundamental rights and principles those seafarers faced in relation to condition of work and living on board of ship.Therefore seafarers have rights that should observe by ship owners and the state flag should confirm the situation of ships with the requirement of the convention. In principles as the skilled and experiment crew is one of the requirements of successful operation in modern ships the process of shortage and unsatisfied crew can hard effects on this industry especially on the secure operation of ship. In decent work, in addition to having a job, you will be entitled to the right Fundamental work, social support and social discourse are also discussed. In other words, the merit of a job is not only about having a job, but also a number of other factors in the work's competence, including the right to form civil formations of labor relations, the prohibition of discrimination in employment, the observance of the minimum age, the prohibition of child labor, the minimum wage proportional to the minimum subsistence The existence of social security, unemployment insurance, rehabilitation, empowerment of women through the acquisition of appropriate job opportunities and the existence of social dialogue between the employer, the employer and the government are also mandatory.