{"id":17330,"date":"2026-07-11T11:13:20","date_gmt":"2026-07-11T11:13:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/11\/turkish-fms-hormuz-comments-highlight-contradiction-over-greeces-12-nautical-mile-rights-greek-city-times\/"},"modified":"2026-07-11T11:13:20","modified_gmt":"2026-07-11T11:13:20","slug":"turkish-fms-hormuz-comments-highlight-contradiction-over-greeces-12-nautical-mile-rights-greek-city-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/11\/turkish-fms-hormuz-comments-highlight-contradiction-over-greeces-12-nautical-mile-rights-greek-city-times\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkish FM&#8217;s Hormuz Comments Highlight Contradiction Over Greece&#8217;s 12 Nautical Mile Rights \u2013 Greek City Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-first=\"T\" itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<h3 id=\"h-turkey-s-foreign-minister-hakan-fidan-has-drawn-attention-to-what-analysts-describe-as-a-longstanding-contradiction-in-ankara-s-maritime-policy-after-acknowledging-iran-s-right-to-12-nautical-miles-of-territorial-waters-in-the-strait-of-hormuz-while-turkey-continues-to-reject-the-same-right-for-greece-in-the-aegean-sea\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Turkey\u2019s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has drawn attention to what analysts describe as a longstanding contradiction in Ankara\u2019s maritime policy after acknowledging Iran\u2019s right to <strong>12 nautical miles of territorial waters<\/strong> in the Strait of Hormuz while Turkey continues to reject the same right for Greece in the Aegean Sea.<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speaking about maritime security and shipping through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, Fidan said Iran has the right to 12 nautical miles of territorial waters under international law.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"tr\" dir=\"ltr\">D\u0131\u015fi\u015fleri Bakan\u0131 Fidan: (CAATSA ve F-35&#8217;ler) Biz bakanlar olarak bunlar\u0131 \u00e7\u00f6zme konusunda uygun ad\u0131mlar\u0131 at\u0131yoruz. \u0130n\u015fallah yak\u0131nda bir neticeye ula\u015faca\u011f\u0131z. Bir s\u0131k\u0131nt\u0131 olmayaca\u011f\u0131n\u0131 d\u00fc\u015f\u00fcn\u00fcyorum. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/N35ZEgq4fR\">pic.twitter.com\/N35ZEgq4fR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 TRT Haber Canl\u0131 (@trthabercanli) <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/trthabercanli\/status\/2075588579762360753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">July 10, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIn international waters, Iran has a right of 12 nautical miles. On the other side is Oman. There is also a sea corridor of about 20 miles between them. The issue is which area will be used and in what way. There is a difference of perception there and there needs to be a common understanding to avoid new tensions,\u201d Fidan said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h3 id=\"h-a-different-stance-in-the-aegean\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">A different stance in the Aegean<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fidan\u2019s remarks have reignited debate over Turkey\u2019s position in the Aegean, where Ankara has maintained since <strong>1995<\/strong> that any Greek decision to extend its territorial waters from six to <strong>12 nautical miles<\/strong> would constitute a <strong>casus belli<\/strong>\u2014or cause for war.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the <strong>United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)<\/strong>, coastal states are generally entitled to extend their territorial waters up to 12 nautical miles. Greece maintains that it has the sovereign right to do so under international law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Turkey, however, argues that the Aegean\u2019s unique geography requires a special legal framework and contends that the standard provisions of the Law of the Sea should not automatically apply.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"h-turkey-already-applies-the-12-mile-rule-elsewhere\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Turkey already applies the 12-mile rule elsewhere<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Analysts have long pointed out that Turkey itself has implemented the 12-nautical-mile limit along its <strong>Black Sea coastline<\/strong> and across much of its <strong>Mediterranean coast<\/strong>, accepting the same principle that it opposes in the Aegean.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For this reason, Fidan\u2019s comments on the Strait of Hormuz have been interpreted by some observers as highlighting the inconsistency in Ankara\u2019s maritime position.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Rather than opposing the principle of 12 nautical miles itself, critics argue that Turkey seeks to establish a unique exception for the Aegean, where it believes different legal and geographical circumstances apply.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"h-longstanding-source-of-tension\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Longstanding source of tension<\/h3>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The issue of territorial waters remains one of the most sensitive disputes between Greece and Turkey.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Athens maintains that extending its territorial waters is an internationally recognised sovereign right, while Ankara insists such a move would significantly alter the balance in the Aegean and has repeatedly warned against any unilateral action.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fidan\u2019s latest remarks have once again brought the debate into focus, with analysts noting the contrast between Turkey\u2019s acceptance of the 12-nautical-mile principle in other parts of the world and its opposition to its application in the Aegean.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Source: SKAI<\/em><\/p>\n<footer class=\"article-tags entry-footer\">\n<div>\n\t\t<strong>Tags:<\/strong><br \/>\n\t\t12 nautical miles, aegean sea, Casus belli, Eastern Mediterranean, Greece, Greek-Turkish relations, Hakan Fidan, international law, Iran, Oman, Strait of Hormuz, Turkey, UNCLOS\t<\/div>\n<\/footer><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/2026\/07\/11\/hakan-fidan-12-nautical-miles-greece-aegean-contradiction\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Turkey\u2019s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has drawn attention to what analysts describe as a longstanding contradiction in Ankara\u2019s maritime policy after acknowledging Iran\u2019s right to 12 nautical miles of territorial waters in the Strait of Hormuz while Turkey continues to reject the same right for Greece in the Aegean Sea. Speaking about maritime security and &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Turkish FM&#8217;s Hormuz Comments Highlight Contradiction Over Greece&#8217;s 12 Nautical Mile Rights \u2013 Greek City Times\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/2026\/07\/11\/turkish-fms-hormuz-comments-highlight-contradiction-over-greeces-12-nautical-mile-rights-greek-city-times\/#more-17330\" aria-label=\"Read more about Turkish FM&#8217;s Hormuz Comments Highlight Contradiction Over Greece&#8217;s 12 Nautical Mile Rights \u2013 Greek City Times\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/greekcitytimes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/hakan-fidan-2-1536x1025-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in-greece.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}