The United States is rallying allies to create an international
security force to protect shipping from the threat posed by Iran in the Strait
of Hormuz, as the British navy began escorting UK-flagged ships through
the waterway after the seizure an oil tanker by Iranian forces last week.
US
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Japan, France, Germany, South Korea,
Australia and other nations had already been approached to join the security
initiative.
"Every
country that has an interest in ensuring that those waterways are open and
crude oil and other products can flow through the Strait of Hormuz needs to
participate," Mr Pompeo said in an interview on Fox News on Thursday.
The
US initiative follows recent attacks on vessels in the area that Washington has
blamed on Iran. The two countries are in an increasingly tense stand-off over
US sanctions that seek to cut off Iran's vital oil exports.
Mr
Pompeo said in earlier interview with Bloomberg TV that he would be willing to
travel to Iran for talks on the current crisis. Tensions have been building
since the US pulled out of a 2015 international accord with Iran to curb its
nuclear programme, and re-imposed sanctions that had been lifted as part of the
agreement.
"Sure. If that's the call, I'd happily go there," Mr
Pompeo said. "I would welcome the chance to speak directly to the Iranian
people."
Iran
has rejected US offers to renegotiate the deal while under the pressure of
sanctions and has demanded that the European signatories, including Britain,
find ways to restore its access to global markets.
Britain angered Iran with the seizure of a loaded Iranian tanker
off its Mediterranean territory of Gibraltar this month on suspicion that it
was carrying oil to Syria in violation of EU sanctions. The seizure of the
British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impera in Omani
waters by Iran's Revolutionary Guard on July 19 was seen as a retaliation by
Tehran.
In
response, the British government announced on Thursday that its navy had begun
escorting vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, despite saying earlier that it
did not have the capacity to do so.
"The
Royal Navy has been tasked to accompany British-flagged ships through the
Strait of Hormuz, either individually or in groups, should sufficient notice be
given of their passage," a government spokesperson said.
“Freedom
of navigation is crucial for the global trading system and world economy, and we
will do all we can to defend it.”
Also
on Thursday, the US Central Command hosted an international meeting in Tampa,
Florida, to discuss security for shipping in the Middle East.
The meeting at MacDill Air Force Base was attended by the UAE
among other countries, including Britain and European nations, The
National has learned.
A
UAE tanker was among four attacked in Fujairah port in May, while two others
were hit by explosions weeks later after passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Centcom
spokesman Major John Rigsbee told The National the
meeting was attended by "senior representatives from allies and partner
nations" but declined to name the countries taking part.
He
said the security initiative, dubbed "Operation Sentinel", was
designed "to enhance maritime domain awareness and promote maritime
stability in response to recent events in the Arabian Gulf region".
In the absence of a formal coalition, each country is
responsible for protecting its shipping in the region, according to newly
confirmed US Defence Secretary Mark Esper.
“The
Brits are escorting their ships and we will escort our ships, and I assume
other countries will escort their ships,” he said on Wednesday.
But
Mr Esper said that the US, with its superior naval fleets, would "come to
the aid of our allies, depending on the situation".
Centcom’s
meeting on Thursday was the third hosted by the US administration since
the standoff with Iran began. Besides the targeting of shipping, tensions have
been raised by Iran's downing of a US surveillance drone in the Strait of
Hormuz that almost led to retaliatory US strikes before President Donald Trump
called them off at the last moment.
In
another apparent provocation, Iran reportedly test fired a ballistic
missile that travelled 1,000 kilometres on Thursday.
A
Pentagon official told CNN the Shahab-3 missile did not pose a threat to
shipping or US bases in the region.
Mr
Trump cited the failure of the 2015 nuclear accord to curb Iran's missile
development as one of the reasons for pulling the US out of the deal in May
last year.