An Examination of Iran's Baseline in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman and the Protest of Other Countries

The baseline is the line from which the breadth of the territorial sea and other marine areas of a coastal state are measured. Because of the ambiguities in UNCLOS provisions on straight baselines, the majority of coastal states have used the method of straight baselines in a way that has considerably increased the extent of their marine areas. This extensive practice has effectively led to the desuetude of the said provisions which in turn would suggest the emergence of new customary rules. Iran is a classic example of this practice. Iran’s Baseline in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman was promulgated by Decree-Law No. 2/250-67 dated 31 Tir 1352 (July 22, 1973) of the Council of Ministers which established straight baselines. But the United States and member states of the European Union have protested the Iranian baseline as stipulated by the said decree-law and still refuse to recognize its validity. The dispute over the Iranian straight baseline system in the Persian Gulf has led to numerous violations of Iran’s territorial sea and its air space by American forces in the region.