Как началась война с Ираном в 2026 году
On February 28, 2026, Israel and the United States launched an air campaign against Iran, killing its supreme leader and many other officials, destroying military and government targets, and killing civilians. Iran responded with missile and drone strikes against Israel, U.S. bases, and U.S.-allied countries in the Middle East, and by closing the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting global trade.
The Strait of Hormuz: Why It Matters Legally and Commercially
The war’s economic impact includes the world’s biggest oil supply disruption since the 1970s energy crisis, surges in oil and gas prices, disruptions in aviation and tourism, and volatility in financial markets.
The Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly one-fifth of all seaborne crude oil passes — became a central point of legal and commercial dispute. Iran’s closure of the strait raised immediate questions under international maritime law: the right of innocent passage, freedom of navigation under UNCLOS, and the obligations of belligerents not to interfere with neutral-flag vessels. The UN Security Council passed Resolution 2817, upholding the navigational rights of all states not party to the ongoing hostilities.
The Ceasefire: What It Says and What It Doesn’t
On April 8, 2026, the United States and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire mediated by Pakistan, based on Iran’s 10-point proposal. Key terms included a suspension of U.S.-Israeli strikes and Iran’s agreement to allow shipping through the Strait of Hormuz during the ceasefire window.
What the ceasefire does not do:
- It does not constitute a peace treaty or any binding legal settlement.
- It does not resolve Iran’s nuclear program, missile capabilities, or sanctions status — all of which were listed as U.S. demands in the earlier 15-point proposal that Iran rejected.
- It does not include Lebanon. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said the ceasefire does not include Lebanon, an assertion backed by Trump, even as mediator Pakistan initially announced otherwise.
- It has not fully held. Iranian attacks on Kuwait and the UAE continued despite the ceasefire announcement.
International Law Debate
Over 100 U.S.-based international law experts — including senior professors, former government legal advisors, and military law specialists — signed a letter stating that the initial strikes on Iran constituted a clear violation of the United Nations Charter and raised serious concerns about violations of international humanitarian law, including potential war crimes.
Human Rights Watch documented serious violations of the laws of war by all parties to the conflict, including attacks on civilian infrastructure.
These assessments matter practically: they inform future accountability proceedings, shape how courts interpret force majeure claims arising from the conflict, and affect how insurers and reinsurers price and cover war risk going forward.
Sanctions and the Ceasefire
It is important to understand that the ceasefire does not equal sanctions relief. As detailed in our earlier post on whether Trump lifted sanctions on Iran, the underlying U.S. sanctions architecture — IEEPA, the Iran Sanctions Act, blocking orders — remained intact through the conflict and continues in effect. The ceasefire is a military pause, not a legal or economic normalization.
The U.S. 15-point ceasefire proposal included sanctions relief for Iran as one element of a permanent deal — but Iran rejected that proposal, and the current two-week truce does not include it.
What Businesses and Individuals Should Do Now
The ceasefire creates a window — but not certainty. Key action items:
- Review force majeure and MAC clauses in any contracts governed by UAE, Saudi, Kuwaiti, or Bahraini law, as well as contracts where supply chains run through the Gulf or Strait of Hormuz.
- Document all losses now, while evidence is fresh. Whether claims are pursued through insurance, arbitration, or eventual international compensation mechanisms, contemporaneous documentation is legally essential.
- Do not assume sanctions compliance is resolved by the ceasefire. Secondary sanctions risk on Iran-connected transactions has not diminished.
- Check aviation and travel status before any Gulf travel. Emirati carriers filed revised flight schedules post-ceasefire, but the restoration of normal capacity remains conditional on ceasefire compliance.
The legal landscape from this conflict will take years to fully resolve. Early, properly documented steps protect your position when that resolution process begins.