US and Allies Consider Options to Protect Major Sea Routes from Iranian Aggression

[ad_1]

Both officials emphasize that if military action is undertaken, it will be conducted by US allies in the region, such as the Saudis, and not by US forces. The US military is already providing intelligence-sharing support to the Saudis in their fight against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. And while the United States regularly sends ships and planes into the region, any long-term military effort would require the participation of other nations, according to the authorities.

Gen. Joseph Votel – Chief of US Central Command, US Overseas Military Operations in the Middle East – visited the region this week to meet with his counterparts and organized a regional commanders' conference for the United States. discuss security issues. A spokesman said the meeting was long overdue and it is unclear how detailed the discussions were on commercial shipping. It is also unclear whether action to keep water courses open is imminent.

There has been increasing concern since the Iranian authorities have been increasing verbal threats to navigation in the Persian Gulf and the strangulation point in the Strait of Hormuz.

Earlier this week, a US Navy warship crossed the Strait of Hormuz without incident, but concerns over potential problems in the future increased as Iranians stepped up their rhetoric to threaten this waterway. attack on the two oil tankers – each with the capacity to carry 2 million barrels – in the Red Sea near the port torn apart by the Hodeidah war which is the most immediate concern. A ship suffered minor damage and no oil was spilled, according to a statement from Saudi Aramco. But the Saudis stopped all oil shipments across the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, just to the south. It is not yet known if they will extend to the rest of the Red Sea.

"In the interest of the safety of ships and their crews and to avoid the risk of oil spills, Saudi Aramco has temporarily suspended all oil shipments." Bab El-Mandeb with immediate effect The company assesses the situation carefully and will take other measures as caution demands, "Saudi Aramco said in a statement released on Wednesday.

Defense Secretary James Mattis said the United States is committed to keeping international shipping lanes open . In Friday's comments, he noted that "Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz" and said that Tehran had been trying to stop shipments in the past to respond to an international military response that included military exercises to demonstrate his open commitment.

"Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Ormuz," he said. Mattis noted that the Iranians have been trying to shut down shipping over the past years, to get the international military response, including military exercises to demonstrate their commitment to keep the waterways open.

"It would obviously have an international response to reopen the shipping lanes with all that took because the world economy depends on that energy, these energy supplies coming out of there."

Mattis reiterated that the Pentagon would continue to work with Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE to counter Iranian influence in the region. Even as the United States tries to urge the Saudis to lead their efforts to keep the oil routes open, the Saudis warn that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps continues to escalate its verbal attacks against the countries. Gulf.