US seeking military coalition to 'safeguard' key shipping lanes

RFE/RL
Wed, 10 Jul 2019 02:38 UTC

© (file photo)

U.S. efforts to bolster security in the Bab al-Mandab off Yemen appear to be a new element in its security strategy.

The United States is moving forward with plans to form a military coalition to safeguard strategic shipping lanes off Iran and Yemen amid raised tensions with Iranian leaders.

Marine General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on July 9 that the Pentagon would provide command and surveillance assets for the coalition.

Allied nations joining the coalition would patrol waters near the U.S. command ships and escort commercial vessels with their nation's flags through the heavily traveled waters between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa.

Comment: Western nations are the only ones illegally seizing tankers, not Iran : British oil tanker slows to 'adjust its arrival time', authorities wrongly blame Iran

"We're engaging now with a number of countries to see if we can put together a coalition that would ensure freedom of navigation both in the Straits of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab," Dunford told reporters following a meeting with acting U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

"And so I think probably over the next couple of weeks we'll identify which nations have the political will to support that initiative and then we'll work directly with the militaries to identify the specific capabilities that'll support that."

Dunford did not discuss how many partners he expected to attract to the coalition, but said its efforts could be adjusted depending on the number of participants.

"This will be scalable. So, with a small number of contributors we can have a small mission and we'll expand that as the number of nations that are willing to participate identify themselves," he said.

Marine General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff (file photo)

U.S. officials have publicly discussed plans to safeguard the water lanes, but Dunford's remarks that the coalition would also seek to bolster security in the Bab al-Mandab off Yemen appeared to be a new element.

Comment: And already they're intending to expand their remit. Although the West already has allies in close proximity, with its backing of the Saudi war on Yemen, which has been going on since 2015.

The narrow Bab al-Mandab connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.

Bab al-Mandab Strait

Washington blames Tehran and fighters aligned with Iran for recent attacks on shipping in the region. Iran denies it was involved in the attacks, which caused damage to the shipping of several nations.

Iran has long threatened to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which almost a fifth of the world's oil passes, if it is unable to export its oil.

Comment: And so in order to coerce Iran, the West needs to be able to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.

U.S. President Donald Trump has vowed to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero as a means of pressuring Tehran to agree to talks on its nuclear program.

Trump pulled out of a landmark 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with six world powers, saying the terms were not strict enough to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

Comment: RT reports that Western tankers are being shadowed by the military:

Tehran has vowed to take reciprocal steps after British authorities last week seized a tanker while it was passing Gibraltar under the pretext that it was carrying Iranian oil to Syria. London claims that it had the right to do so, as the tanker was allegedly violating the sanctions regime imposed by the EU on Damascus.

The British oil tanker Pacific Voyager, which recently sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, was apparently accompanied by a UK military vessel during its passage, the Marine Traffic tracking service showed on 9 July. Later, the British warship stopped following the tanker, but was soon replaced by a NATO military vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

It is so far unclear what led the two warships to follow the British oil tanker, but the situation comes amid tensions between the UK and Iran. Tehran has slammed a recent decision by British authorities to seize an oil tanker carrying crude oil, warning that it could take tit-for-tat measures against British vessels unless the tanker is released.

Bloomberg reported on the same day that in the wake of these tensions, an oil tanker belonging to the British energy giant BP took "shelter" inside the Persian Gulf, allegedly fearing that Tehran could follow through on its promise.

London claims that the Grace 1 tanker, seized on 4 June off Gibraltar, was carrying Iranian oil to Syria in violation of European sanctions against the Arab country's government. The 28 crewmembers of the super tanker are being interviewed as witnesses by British authorities in an effort to establish the nature of the freight and its final destination.

Iran denies claims that the oil was destined for Syria and lambasted London's actions as "piracy", warning that the incident has set "a dangerous precedent".

Norway mulls whether it will involve itself in the US' latest acts of belligerence in the region:

Norway has been asked to contribute to a military coalition that the US is working to assemble in order to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz, national broadcaster NRK reported. However, whether Norwegian naval vessels will be sent to the Persian Gulf remains unclear.

Norway's Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide confirmed that her country has been asked to contribute militarily to the nascent coalition.

"I can confirm that Norway has received a request from the US to contribute to some form of mechanism in order to strengthen the safety of shipping through the Hormuz Strait", Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide told NRK.

Despite repeatedly voicing her concern at the development and the military escalation taking place in the Gulf area, Søreide assumed a wait-and-see stance.

"The fact that the US has undertaken this initiative is positive, but it is too early to say anything about any Norwegian contribution. For us to more closely discuss any possible participation with the US and other allies, there must be more clarity in the framework for this cooperation", Søreide pointed out.

Norway is known for its wide contribution to international coalitions. Since 1947, the Scandinavian country has participated in over 40 military operations abroad, and over 120,000 Norwegian troops have served in these operations. Norway has dutifully supported most recent NATO operations, including missions in Lebanon, the Balkans, Mali, Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, and Syria. In 2009, Norway sent frigates to secure maritime traffic against pirate attacks outside Somalia in the Horn of Africa.

In May 2019, four tankers belonging to Norway, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, were badly damaged as a result of several explosions in the Gulf of Oman. Despite the fact that a UAE-led investigation failed to determine the culprit behind the "sabotage", as well as Teheran's vehement denial, the US rushed to baselessly pin the explosions on Iran. As an answer to the US' belligerent rhetoric, Iran responded by shooting down a US drone.

See also:

• American Aggression? Never!
• Starvation sanctions are worse than overt warfare
• Iran squeezed between imperial psychos and European cowards
• As Iran steps up enrichment, it steps away from the nuclear deal...what's next depends on US and EU nuclear diplomacy