Tensions rise with plan for war games in gulf hotspot
Middle East
Russia and Iran are to hold joint naval exercises around the Strait of Hormuz, raising the risk of a dangerous confrontation with Western forces in the Persian Gulf.
They have pledged to stage the war games by the end of the year, even as Britain and the United States step up their military presence in gulf waters with a new joint taskforce to protect commercial shipping.
The announcement marks a milestone in improving relations between Iran and Russia, former rivals who have found common ground in Syria’s civil war.
Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz have increased since the US pulled out of a 2015 deal curbing Iran’s nuclear activities and reimposed punishing sanctions that have cut off oil exports and decimated its economy.
Iran has been blamed for a series of mine attacks on tankers in the gulf, and last month it seized a British-flagged tanker, Stena Impero, in retaliation for Britain’s capture of an Iranian tanker off Gibraltar which was thought to be smuggling oil to Syria in violation of European sanctions.
European allies have shied away from joining a formal Usled taskforce but yesterday China said it was studying the proposal and might send escorts for Chinese commercial vessels ‘‘if there happens to be a very unsafe situation’’.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned in a live televised speech yesterday that shipping in the critical waterway would not be safe until Iranian tankers could ply their routes unhindered by sanctions. ‘‘Peace with Iran is the mother of all peace – war with Iran is the mother of all wars,’’ he said.
Russia and Iran already hold joint naval exercises in the Caspian Sea but this will be the first time they have conducted drills around the Strait of Hormuz.
The war games will give Russia an opening to project its power in a new Middle Eastern arena. Nicole Grajewski, a researcher on Russia-iran relations at Oxford University, said: ‘‘It shows an impetus for cooperation beyond Syria.
‘‘Russia uses the Middle East as a region in which it can be an order builder, and to show that it can be like the US.’’
Fears of war in the gulf have forced a rethink among some regional powers. Last week, Iran and the United Arab Emirates discussed maritime issues in their first face-to-face dialogue since 2013. – The Times