US: WE WILL DEFEND GULF SEA ROUTES FROM IRAN’S THREATS
▶ American naval commander says vital choke points will be kept open
A top US naval commander pledged to defend critical shipping routes through the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf from Iranian threats, whose “malign interests” play a destabilising role across the region.
“We stand ready to protect the flow of commerce and freedom of navigation” in the region, US 5th Fleet commander Vice Adm Scott Stearney said yesterday.
Speaking from the 5th Fleet’s headquarters in Manama, Bahrain, Vice Adm Stearney responded to recent threats to global shipping at the narrow choke points of the Strait of Hormuz and Bab Al Mandeb. Last month, a top Iranian general claimed the country’s navy had taken full control of the Arabian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.
“All the carriers and military and non-military ships will be controlled and there is full supervision over the Arabian Gulf.
“Our presence in the region is physical and constant and night and day,” said the head of the navy of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, Gen Alireza Tangsiri, reported Tehran’s Tasnim news agency.
The 33-kilometre strait separating southern Iran from the Arabian Peninsula is a strategic global shipping artery.
A third of the world’s seaborne oil passes through it each day, travelling from Middle East producers to markets in Asia, Europe and North America.
Iran has threatened to block oil shipments through the waterway in response to the United States escalating sanctions against Tehran.
“We can ensure the security of the Arabian Gulf and there is no need for the presence of aliens like the US and the countries whose home is not here,” Gen Tangsiri said.
But Vice Adm Stearney, who described Iran’s posture as unhelpful, said the US presence aimed to preserve security and stability in the region.
Vice Adm Stearney was also critical of the role Tehran plays in the conflict in Yemen, claiming that Iranian support for the Houthi rebels enabled them to threaten the shipping route through Bab Al Mandeb.
“Iran continues to develop advanced ballistic missile capability and transfer them to the Houthis and Hezbollah,” he said, “which will allow them to further destabilise the areas of the region that is in their malign interests.”
The 5th Fleet’s area of operations includes the Arabian Gulf, the Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean.
The fleet, whose aircraft carriers this month launched new F-35 stealth fighters, is holding four naval exercises focused on the three critical congestion points of the Suez Canal, Bab Al Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz.
“These combined exercises show that the US and its partners stand ready to defend the free flow of shipping,” Vice Adm Stearney said.
“All of our exercises were planned well prior to any of the recent events,” he said.
“These exercises are not in response to any one action or threat in particular.”
The region’s maritime routes are critical to the flow of commerce worldwide, he said. “We are here for the stability and the security of this region.”
These combined exercises show that the US and its partners stand ready to defend the free flow of shipping SCOTT STEARNEY US Navy Vice Admiral