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Iranwire – The United States could soon offer to put armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the strategic Strait of Hormuz, as part of efforts to deter the Islamic Republic of Iran from seizing and harassing civilian vessels, news agencies quoted US officials as saying on August 3.
The officials offered few details of the plan, which comes as thousands of Marines and sailors on the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan and the landing ship USS Carter Hall are heading to the Persian Gulf. The US military has already sent A-10 Thunderbolt II warplanes, F-16 and F-35 fighters, as well as the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, to the region.
Since 2019, Iran has seized or harrassed a series of ships in the strait, the narrow waterway connecting the Persian Gulf to the wider world.
Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder did not comment on the reported plan, but he said that the United States and its partners are committed to ensuring “the Strait of Hormuz remains open, there’s freedom of navigation, and that we’re deterring any type of malign activity.”
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby noted that the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil transits, is “a vital seaway that has a huge impact on seaborne trade around the world.”
“It’s a critical choke point in the maritime world. And we have seen threats by Iran to affect that chokepoint,” he added.
Iranian officials did not immediately comment on the reported plan.
According to the US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, no final decision has been made and discussions continue between American military officials and Washington’s allies in the region.
Under the envisaged plan, they said, the Marines and Navy sailors would provide the security at the request of the ships involved. One official said that any deployment is likely to require approval of the country under which the ship is flagged and the country under which the owner is registered.
Earlier on August 3, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of the Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet, met with the head of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a six-nation bloc that includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
According to a statement from the GCC, Cooper and officials discussed “strengthening GCC-U.S. cooperation and working with international and regional partners.”
