US to step up defensive operations in Arabian Gulf, White House says

The US Department of Defence is working on “a series of moves” designed to strengthen its military capabilities in the Arabian Gulf, the White House has said.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that Washington will seek to increase international co-ordination and raise European awareness in the Strait of Hormuz in the coming weeks.

Operations will fall under the leadership of US Naval Forces, including its Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, he said on Friday.

US Central Command, which has responsibility for operations in the Middle East and Central and South Asia, said that it was working to increase the rotation of warships and military aircraft patrolling in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

“Iran’s unwarranted, irresponsible and unlawful seizure and harassment of merchant vessels must stop,” said Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, Fifth Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces.

The announcement came after Iran commandeered two oil tankers in the Arabian Gulf last week, as tension with western powers increases over its rapidly advancing nuclear programme. On April 27, Iran took over the Marshall Islands-flagged Advantage Sweet, which was carrying Kuwaiti crude oil bound for US energy firm Chevron in the Gulf of Oman.

Tehran claimed the vessel had struck another ship, a claim that could not be verified by tracking data.

Mr Kirby called the increase in such Iranian operations an affront to “navigational rights and freedoms in international waters and strategic waterways of the region”.

“The United States strongly condemns actions that threaten and interfere with commercial shipping in the Middle East … there’s simply no justification for these actions,” Mr Kirby said.

“The US does not seek conflict or escalation with Iran.”

The commandeering of ships began after former US president Donald Trump withdrew from the landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal, through which Tehran limited its enrichment of uranium in exchange for sanctions relief.

The operations have continued under President Joe Biden and as diplomatic efforts in Austria to find a way back to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action have reached a stalemate.