On Monday, June 24, the United States called on the international community to further protect the Strait of Hormuz.
Tensions rose a notch on Thursday, 20 June, when Iran shot down a US drone. According to Washington, Iran is responsible for the recent attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman (see EUROPE 12280/8).
At a press conference on the sidelines of a visit to the Gulf, US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook said the international community should consider how to enhance cooperation and increase support for the freedom of navigation in and around the Strait of Hormuz. The 'Combined Maritime Forces', bringing together 30 countries, is already operating in the area.
“We could enhance our efforts on some points. There also could be new initiatives pulling together a number of nations, allied nations who have equities in freedom of navigation, so that we can increase maritime security”, the American representative added.
For Mr Hook, maritime safety should be internationalised. “Iran's threats to international shipping impacts states around the world (...) This is a global challenge that requires a global response”, he stressed, adding that a number of nations were considering “a number of ideas”. He said the G20, to be held on June 28-29 in Osaka, Japan, will be a good forum for further conversations about this issue.
Later that day, U.S. President Donald Trump was more incisive, half threatening to withdraw American ships from the area. “China gets 91% of its oil from the Strait, Japan 62%, and many other countries likewise. So why are we protecting the shipping lanes for other countries (many years) for zero compensation? All these countries should protect their own ships on what has always been a dangerous journey. We don’t even need to be there in that the U.S. has just become (by far) the largest producer of Energy anywhere in the world!”, he said on Twitter. According to Mr Hook, more than 60% of the oil destined for Asia passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
The US Representative also called on all nations with an “interest in promoting regional stability” to “make it clear to Iran that its threats and violence cannot be tolerated”. “Countries should use their diplomacy to encourage Iran to use its diplomacy”, he added, adding that it was time for Iran to meet diplomacy with diplomacy. While waiting for Tehran to sit at the negotiating table, the United States will maintain its “maximum pressure campaign within the limits of diplomatic and economic pressure”. At the time of writing, the announcement of new US sanctions was imminent.
The US Ambassador to the UN was scheduled to brief the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday, June 24, in a session behind closed doors, on US evidence accusing Iran of being responsible for the attack on ships in the Gulf of Oman and on the role that the UNSC could play. According to Mr Hook, the UN Security Council's action “must address international peace and security and Iran's threats to freedom of navigation and to innocent civilians”. “It is important that the Council be responsive to the escalating tensions in this region”, he added. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)