Displaying items by tag: Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf: Operation Sentinel launched
Large navy vessels will watch at chokepoints while smaller vessels will patrol key transit lanes, and airborne assets will monitor traffic in the Persian Gulf. This stems from a new coalition officially launched on 7 November from its Bahrain headquarters. It will protect shipping in the troubled waters after a string of attacks that Washington and its allies blame on Iran, threatening the world’s oil supply. Iran denies responsibility for the attacks, and has put forward its own proposals for boosting Gulf security - that pointedly exclude outside powers. The new mission, dubbed Operation Sentinel, will see vessels escorted through the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic chokepoint at the head of the Gulf and the main artery for transporting oil. Australia and the United Kingdom are the main non-Gulf countries to have sent warships to escort shipping. The newest member, Albania, joined on 6 November.
Persian Gulf: Another oil tanker seized
Iran's state TV said on 18 July that the Revolutionary Guard had seized a foreign oil tanker with 12 crew members accused of smuggling one million litres of fuel in the Lark Island of the Persian Gulf. The guards said the vessel impounded was the same one it towed on the previous Sunday after it sent a distress call. The TV didn't identify the tanker or say which country the crew were from. There has been speculation earlier on the whereabouts of the Riah oil tanker, which sails under the Panama flag. At the time of writing it is not known whether the vessel towed by Iran was indeed the Riah. The US expressed suspicion that the Riah had been seized in Iranian territorial waters. US General Kenneth McKenzie said that they were talking to other countries about freedom of navigation in the Gulf and will work ‘aggressively’ to find a solution to enable free passage.
IRAN: Trump Prepared To Talk To Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump says he is prepared to talk to Iran but that there was always a chance of U.S. military action against Tehran.
"So Iran is a place that was extremely hostile when I first came into office," Trump who is on a state visit to Britain, told ITV television on June 5. "They were a terrorist nation number one in the world at that time and probably maybe are today."
Asked if he thought military action might be needed, he said: "There's always a chance. Do I want to? No. I'd rather not. But there's always a chance."
He said, when asked, that he was prepared to talk to Iranian President Rohani: "Yeah of course. I would much rather talk."
Trump's comments come amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States and its allies in the Persian Gulf.
Washington a year ago withdrew from a landmark 2015 nuclear agreement between world powers and Iran that curbed the country's nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.
Trump argued that the terms on the accord were not tough enough to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and did not address the country's missile program or its support for militants in the region.
Since then, Washington has re-imposed sanctions, stepped up its rhetoric, and beefed up its military presence in the Middle East, citing " imminent threats" from Iran.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on June 5 that Tehran would not be "deceived" by Trump’s offer of negotiations and would not give up its missile program.
"This political trick will not deceive Iranian officials and the Iranian nation," Khamenei said in a speech broadcast on Iranian television.
Pray: for an end to the escalating tensions.
Pray: that Iran does not develop nuclear capability and adheres to its previous agreement.
Pray: that peace prevails and for a negotiated resolution to the crisis to be achieved.