The European Union on Monday unveiled the first use of its freedom-of-navigation sanctions regime, targeting Iran over its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz that carries roughly one-fifth of the world's oil supply.
The move came after a two-month ceasefire collapsed on Sunday, when Tehran launched missiles at Israel as retaliation for strikes on Hezbollah positions on the outskirts of Beirut.
The strait has been effectively choked off since U.S.-Israeli strikes began in late February. Iran has since imposed what amounts to a maritime toll system, reportedly demanding as much as $2 million from vessels seeking passage.
"Iran's actions are unacceptable," said the EU's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas at a news conference in Cyprus on Monday.
Topping the sanctions list is the Hormozgan Province Command of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, the unit responsible for screening vessels entering the strait. Two individuals were also designated: the IRGC Navy's Deputy Commander for Political Affairs, Mohammad Akbarzadeh, and Hamid Hosseini, a representative of Iran's Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters' Union.
Iran was predictably dismissive. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi described the move as a "political and hypocritical" gesture to which Tehran attached no value.
On that point, he may have a case.
The sanctions are unlikely to alter Theran’s actions. But their limited impact also says as much about the EU as it does about Iran.
European leaders may take comfort in having avoided direct involvement in a war that has proved costly and embarrassing for the U.S. Yet distance has brought little protection as Europe remains largely powerless in a conflict that is battering its economy.
On Thursday, the European Central Bank hiked interest rates for the first time in almost three years. ECB President Christine Lagarde said that war-driven inflation is no longer confined to energy markets and may prove stubborn even if Washington and Tehran eventually strike a peace deal.
Her warning came as the U.S. also resumed strikes on Iran this week and even floated the possibility of seizing Kharg Island, the terminal that handles most of the country’s crude exports.
Europe may by now be accustomed to the role of bruised bystander in Donald Trump's foreign policy dramas. But the war in the Middle East is a particularly painful blow.
By staying out of the fighting, the EU has further loosened the bonds of an already strained transatlantic relationship. Meanwhile, Washington — still Europe's indispensable ally — has spent four months demonstrating it cannot win the war, cannot sustain a ceasefire and cannot reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The result is that Europe's most important ally is steadily losing credibility through a conflict that is forcing the bloc to divert resources from the very rearmament drive intended to make it less dependent on Washington.
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