UK plans Europe-led force
♦ Mission ‘not part of US maximum pressure policy’: Jeremy Hunt
♦ US sanctions Chinese oil trader over alleged Iran violations
Britain called for a European-led naval mission to ensure safe shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, days after Iran seized a British-flagged tanker in what London described as an act of “state piracy” in the strategic waterway.
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt outlined the plans to parliament on Monday after a meeting of COBR, the government’s emergency committee, which discussed London’s response to Friday’s capture of the Stena Impero tanker by Iranian commandos at sea.
“Under international law, Iran had no right to obstruct the ship’s passage - let alone board her. It was therefore an act of state piracy,” Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt told parliament.
“We will now seek to put together a European-led maritime protection mission to support safe passage of both crew and cargo in this vital region,” Hunt said.
The proposed new maritime protection mission “will not be part of the US maximum pressure policy on Iran because we remain committed to preserving the Iran nuclear agreement”, he said.
The British announcement signals a potential shift from Washington’s major European allies who so far have been cool to US requests that they beef up their military presence in the Gulf, for fear of feeding the confrontation there, reported Reuters.
It is unclear how much influence Britain may have in Europe given it is about to have a new prime minister, widely expected to be Boris Johnson, who takes over a country divided over Brexit, its planned departure from the European Union.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump said on Monday that chances of negotiating with Iran were dwindling and blasted the Islamic republic as the world’s top “state of terror.”
The president cited a series of recent conflicts involving Tehran, including the downing of US and Iranian drones and, most recently, Tehran’s announcement that it arrested 17 people in connection to a CIA spy ring, a claim Trump rejected as “lies.”
China yesterday called US sanctions against Chinese companies “illegal”, a day after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced he was putting a leading oil importer on a blacklist, reported AFP.
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