By Waging War on Ports and Passenger Ships, the US has Committed “Infrastructure Terrorism”
Sea News — The escalation of US missile and drone attacks on Iran’s southern coastal and transit infrastructure—ranging from the destruction of the Chabahar port control tower and the demolition of key bridges in Hormozgan to assaults on passenger vessels—has shifted the nature of the conflict away from conventional military confrontation. This all-out campaign, targeting the region’s vital lifelines and economic arteries, constitutes a textbook definition of “infrastructure terrorism” and a flagrant violation of global maritime treaties under international law.
From the perspective of international crisis law, commercial port control towers, railway lines, and airports are explicitly defined as strictly civilian objects under Article 52 of the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions. The bombardment of these hubs and the severance of Makran’s transit arteries, which directly endanger civilian lives, represent a blatant violation of the fundamental wartime principles of “distinction” and “proportionality.” This lawless behavior reveals that Washington, failing to achieve its strategic objectives on the battlefield, has resorted to holding public infrastructure hostage.
On the maritime front, targeting passenger vessels and imposing a unilateral blockade on commercial ports openly flouts the regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Under international maritime law, the security of passenger lines and commercial corridors must never be subjected to state aggression. CENTCOM’s direct fire on civilian vessels sets a dangerous precedent, replacing the legal order of the seas with anarchy and military bullying.
Beyond the human toll, this infrastructure terrorism is a direct assault on the security of the international supply chain. By blinding the radar capabilities of commercial ports and weaponizing passenger routes, the White House is seeking geopolitical blackmail by fostering terror in public waterways. This dangerous gamble places heavy legal accountability squarely on Washington, and the silence of international bodies in the face of these overt war crimes will further erode the very legitimacy of the global legal order.
