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EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas warned on Thursday that Iran's control of the Strait of Hormuz could lead down a “slippery slope” of imposing tolls and taxes over international waters, which she described as a “very dangerous development”.
In an interview with The National, she pushed back against US President Donald Trump's suggestion of a “joint venture” with Iran to handle transit at the strategic strait and said the blockade had become “everybody's problem”.
“We are really focusing on the freedom of navigation in these waters,” Ms Kallas said during a visit to Abu Dhabi on Thursday. “Because if we go down that slippery slope of giving the right to ask tolls or taxes over these waters that have been open before, then I think we will see this elsewhere in the world as well, and this is a very dangerous development.”
Iran has effectively blockaded the Strait of Hormuz as leverage in its war with the US and Israel. One of Tehran's proposals for permanently ending the conflict that has engulfed the region includes a provision allowing it to charge ships passing through the strait to compensate for reparations and damages from the war.
In his announcement of the two-week truce on Truth Social, Mr Trump hinted at a joint US-Iran venture to control the strait. “The United States of America will be helping with the traffic build-up in the Strait of Hormuz,” he wrote on Wednesday, adding that “big money will be made”.
But Ms Kallas said: “We should stick to international law that provides freedom of navigation, it's better for all countries in the world.”
Iran and the US agreed on Wednesday to a two-week ceasefire after 40 days of war. Negotiations are set to begin in Pakistan this weekend to reach a comprehensive deal. However, Israel has continued its attacks on Lebanon, which Ms Kallas said should be included in the truce.
Fragile ceasefire
Ms Kallas described the two-week ceasefire as “fragile” after attacks were reported across Lebanon and the Gulf on Wednesday and Thursday. “Ceasefire is better than the fighting continuing, that's for sure. But it's also clear that the ceasefire is fragile at this moment,” she said.
Lebanese Health Minister Rakan Nassereddine said 203 people were killed in Wednesday's strikes – a lower toll than the earlier figure reported by the civil defence, in one of the deadliest waves of Israeli attacks across the country since March 2.
Israel and the White House insist Lebanon is not part of the truce agreement, which contradicts Pakistan's announcement of the ceasefire that it brokered.
US Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday that Lebanon was not included in the ceasefire and that Iran had misunderstood.
Tehran had, however, warned that if the war on Lebanon and Hezbollah continues, it might respond by attacking Israel.
Ms Kallas told The National that the EU believes the ceasefire should “definitely cover Lebanon”.
“What happened … is really very strong-handed. A lot of people were killed, and it shouldn't be like this,” she said, referring to the more than 100 Israeli strikes launched on Lebanon in 10 minutes on Wednesday. “The human suffering we see in Lebanon is totally unnecessary.”
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called on the EU to suspend its Association Agreement with Israel following the attacks on Lebanon.
Asked if the EU was willing to take such a step, Ms Kallas said: “This has been on the table for quite some time. There have been these proposals from the member states to suspend this. At this moment, we don't have a unified position.
“We definitely need to call on Israel to exercise restraint because if so many civilians are killed in this fight, it is really too heavy-handed and disproportionate.”
Gulf role
As the US and Iran prepare for a new round of negotiations, they have assembled long lists of issues that could be deal-breakers. The underlying understanding, however, is that a nuclear deal alone will not resolve the crisis or prevent another war.
“What we see today is that we have a lot of worries regarding Iran, them posing a threat to their neighbouring countries,” said Ms Kallas. “So we need to address also the nuclear issue, but also the ballistic missile issue, their cyber and hybrid attacks on countries and also their proxies operating in Lebanon or Gaza, for example.
“So there's a lot that we should cover in order to have a sustainable, lasting piece.”
Beyond the fate of the Strait of Hormuz, which was not a point of contention before the war and was open to navigation, Tehran’s support for proxies across the region and its ballistic missile programme are now central issues, particularly for Gulf states.
Those states have been subjected to near-daily Iranian missile and drone attacks since February 28. They are also pushing to be included in the negotiations, seeking to avoid a repeat of the deal more than a decade ago, when they had little influence despite being directly affected.
“Gulf countries need to be heard because … they really know Iran much better than anybody,” said Ms Kallas.
