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Plans for a European-led maritime security force in the Gulf, unveiled by British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, have surfaced, the plan being rejected by Iran and meeting resistance from the United States. supporters of the new prime minister, Boris Johnson.
British experts in the maritime sector also felt that this was not a short-term solution to the British-flag crisis in the Gulf.
On Monday, Hunt unveiled a plan for a Europe-led maritime security force, stating that he considered that a draft rival plan for an American force could be perceived by Iranians as a milestone climbing, in part since Washington opposes the Iranian nuclear deal.
The United States' rejection of the May 2018 deal with Iran triggered a series of slow-moving acts that led to the seizure last Friday of the British flag vessel Stena Impero. Hunt condemned the Iranian seizure as an act of state piracy.
Iran's Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri said any international coalition to protect the Gulf would only bring insecurity. "There is no need to form a coalition because this type of coalitions and foreign presence in the region alone create insecurity," he said. "And apart from growing insecurity, he will not realize anything else."
Iran's minister to Boris Johnson: Iran does not seek confrontation – video
Iran has sent one of its top diplomats, Abbas Araghchi, to Paris for talks with French President Emmanuel Macron in an effort to break the deadlock. It would carry a written message from Hbadan Rouhani, the Iranian president.
Iran has announced that it will attend a meeting Sunday in Vienna of country diplomats still supporting the 2015 nuclear deal as they tried to rescue it.
European leaders have generally welcomed the Hunt plan, although it is ironic that the UK is proposing a European security initiative as it plans to leave the EU.
The UK is considering a multinational maritime operation that could also include countries from the Gulf region. A multinational operation is perceived to be faster to set up than an EU mission because the British government is under pressure from the industry to protect the half-trillion dollars that pbades every year in the Strait of Ormuz.
A British diplomat said: "We engage our partners around the world, including within the EU. EU partners have shown interest in our proposal. "
Johnson's allies seem willing to continue to support Britain in the Iranian nuclear issue, but do not see the need to exclude the United States from maritime security patrol plans in the Gulf. There is also resentment that Hunt is attempting to take such measures of such considerable scope that would have implications for the future of the "privileged relationship" when he might live in the future. to be on a period borrowed as Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
The Foreign Office has stated that any separate maritime initiative led by Europe would not exclude America, but would work in cooperation with US naval forces.
Hunt told MEPs on Monday that the UK "will strive to coordinate European freedom of navigation efforts with everything the United States does, but we want our contribution, the contribution of the United Kingdom to United, is to make this coalition as wide as possible. "
Tensions between the United States and Iran have skyrocketed, Washington shipping warships into the Gulf and Tehran resuming its uranium enrichment activities.
The UAE has stated that four commercial vessels off its east coast have "been subjected to sabotage".
Houthi rebels in Yemen launch a drone attack against Saudi Arabia, hitting a major oil pipeline and putting it out of service.
Saudi Arabia blames Iran for launching a drone attack on its pipeline.
A rocket lands near the US Embbady in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, without hurting anyone. Donald Trump tweeted: "If Iran wants to fight, it will be the official end of Iran. Never threaten the United States again!
Vice Admiral Michael Gilday, a senior Pentagon officer, said the United States had great confidence that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were responsible for the explosions against the four oilmen in the Gulf of Oman .
Saudi Arabia has announced that 26 people have been injured in an attack perpetrated by Houthi rebels from Yemen against an airport in Abha, a city in the southwestern kingdom.
Two tankers near the Hormuz Strait would have been attacked during an badault that left a fire and drifting. 44 sailors were evacuated from both ships and the US Navy badisted.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guards say they shot down what they called an American "spy" drone that they thought was flying in the country's airspace. The US military confirmed that one of its drones had been dismounted, but that the aircraft was in the international airspace.
Donald Trump allegedly authorized the US military to launch strikes on Iran in retaliation for the loss of the drone, before retiring at the last minute.
The Iranian and US presidents exchange insults, Hbadan Rouhani suggesting that Donald Trump was suffering from a "mental disorder" and that Trump once again threatened Iran with "wiping out".
Iran calls the UK ambbadador after an incident off Gibraltar as the Royal Marines seize an oil tanker suspected by the United Kingdom of carrying oil to Syria.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the body responsible for verifying Iran's compliance with the terms of the nuclear deal, checks that Tehran has exceeded the limit of 3.67% agreed for enriched uranium.
The British government said three Iranian ships had been warned by the HMS Montrose frigate after Iranian boats had "tried to prevent" a British tanker in the Strait of Ormuz. Tehran denies any involvement.
During a major escalation, Iran seizes Stena Impero, a British-flagged oil tanker, off its shores. Iranian officials later said the capture was in retaliation for the capture of the Iranian supertanker Grace 1 earlier in July.
Hunt's allies believe he could not leave a void in times of crisis and that the government has no constitutional obligation to consult a candidate then running for the Conservative Party on British security plans. Hunt's future as Foreign Secretary remains in question and the scale of his president's defeat in the presidential elections will be weighed against the disruption of the Foreign Secretary's change in times of crisis.
British shipping officials fear that the project of a convoy led by Europe will take up to four months to be operational and many British ships fearing to be captured by the United States. Iran, may lose their flag in the meantime if they do not feel fully protected. They are seeking to negotiate with the Department of Transport on interim protection.
British shipping officials reported that the cost of war insurance for shipments pbading through the Strait of Ormuz was rising. According to them, the cost of a trip in the strait for a very large crude oil carrier (VLCC), the most prevalent supertanker, ranging from 200,000 to 400,000 tons, is expected to increase by about 500,000 dollars (£ 402,000). It is feared that shipping companies will begin to float under the British flag, fearing that the flag will turn the ship into an Iranian target. Some Iranian deputies also claimed tolls on British and American ships crossing the strait.
Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif insisted that Johnson needed to understand that Iran was not looking for confrontation. After meeting his Nicaraguan counterpart Denis Moncada on Monday, he told reporters: "It is important for everyone to realize, it is important that Boris Johnson understands, that Iran is not looking for confrontation. wants to have normal relationships based on mutual respect. "
Zarif made no reference to the proposed United Kingdom proposed maritime protection force, but stated: "We have 1,500 miles of coastline in the Persian Gulf. We are responsible for the safety and freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf. This is our lifeline. "
Using his usual description of the group around US National Security Advisor John Bolton as Team B, he said: "It is far better that the UK is not engaged in implementing schemes. Team B loses ground in the United States and is now turning to the UK. I guess the same policies that failed in the United States will fail in the UK. "
The diplomat made the remarks after Britain sent a flurry of threatening messages to Iran in response to last Friday's seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker. Stena Impero was captured and an investigation opened after the tanker's collision with an Iranian fishing boat in the Persian Gulf and his refusal to respond to the distress call.
Zarif said that Iran acted against Stena Impero only after the United Kingdom violated maritime regulations.
"The British ship had refused her signal for more time than it was allowed to do [and] through the wrong channel, endangering the safety and security of navigation and navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, for which we are responsible, "he said.
Nathalie Loiseau, the former head of the Macron party in the European Parliament, said the two priorities were de-escalation and surveillance in the Strait of Hormuz. Speaking on BBC World Tonight, she said: "What I find extremely interesting when a British ship has been seized – and this is a very worrying issue in the UK and rightly so – there is this reflex to call the Europeans: At the very moment when you talk about Brexit, you can see that we have common threats and common threat badessment methods.
"I listened carefully to the Foreign Secretary claiming that the initiative he was considering was very different from the US initiative of a maximum pressure policy."
Additional report by Jennifer Rankin in Brussels
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