A proposed mission by the UK and France to secure the Strait of Hormuz once the Iran war ends has been branded a catch-22 by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The top diplomat questioned the need for naval escorts “if no one’s shooting”, but acknowledged it could provide initial reassurance to shipping. He expected efforts to reopen the critical waterway would dominate this month’s meeting of heads from the G7 group of leading democracies in Evian, France, pending the outcome of talks between Washington and Tehran. The narrow Gulf channel has become a flashpoint in the conflict, now in its fourth month. The vital supply route for oil and gas was open to shipping prior to the US and Israel launching strikes against Iran in February. Iran’s stranglehold on the strait has shocked economies around the world, including the UK’s, and seen a spike in petrol prices. It has led the US to impose its own blockade resulting in an ongoing stand-off and leaving around 1,500 cargo vessels stranded, amid a fragile ceasefire, which has been shaken by ongoing strikes. Appearing before the Senate foreign affairs committee, Mr Rubio said the US had not offered to ease sanctions against Iran in exchange for reopening the strait, which he stressed was a key demand as part of any deal. Washington has argued Europe needed the sea route “much more than we do” and ensuring free transit of vessels was “much more their fight than ours”. Plans being led by Britain and France to protect shipping in the channel once hostilities end have also fuelled US criticism of allies’ response to the conflict, with Mr Rubio himself previously arguing “it doesn’t make sense”. The proposed future defensive mission would see the UK deploy autonomous mine-hunting equipment, anti-drone systems and Typhoon jets, alongside the destroyer HMS Dragon. Read More Speaking in Congress, Mr Rubio said freeing up the strait was set to top the agenda at the upcoming G7 summit. He said: “Even though it’s not a military forum per se, the UK and France are members of it. “They’ve put together this initiative, which they say they will send mine sweepers and escort ships, but they will do so once hostilities are ended. Kind of a catch-22. “On the one hand, I mean, why do you need naval escorts if no one’s shooting at the ships? That said, I don’t diminish the utility of it, because I would imagine the first few ships to go through are going to like to be escorted. So, I think that’s going to be a key feature of that conversation.” The Foreign Office has been contacted for comment.
A proposed mission by the UK and France to secure the Strait of Hormuz once the Iran war ends has been branded a catch-22 by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The top diplomat questioned the need for naval escorts “if no one’s shooting”, but acknowledged it could provide initial…
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A tanker identified as the Kaifan was struck by an unknown projectile northeast of Oman’s Limah in the Strait of Hormuz, according to a July 21 report from UK Maritime Trade Operations. No ships were observed transiting the strait that day. Attribution of the strike and links to prior incidents have not been confirmed by the vessel’s owner.
Goldman Sachs has projected Brent crude averaging $80 per barrel in the fourth quarter and $75 in the following year, conditional on reduced Middle East tensions, while noting upside risks from potential shipping disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz or Red Sea.
Brent prices rose above $91 per barrel amid recent U.S.-Iran exchanges and Houthi threats to Saudi shipments before edging lower on Tuesday. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that mediators had proposed a 10-day ceasefire to preserve an interim agreement.
Opening summary: Iran claims attacks on strait of Hormuz ships amid fresh US strikes Welcome to our live coverage of the latest developments in the Middle East crisis. Iran attacked a tanker in the strait of Hormuz early on Tuesday, forcing its crew to abandon the ship, as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis announced they were imposing an immediate maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea after the two sides traded fire last week for the first time in years.
A Houthi official said the Bab al-Mandeb strait – at the southern end of the Red Sea, through which about 12% of the world’s trade usually passes – would be closed to the Saudis in response to the kingdom’s “unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years”.
Saudi Arabia said it would take “all necessary measures to protect its vessels in accordance with international law”. A 10 consecutive night of US airstrikes has not compelled Tehran to loosen its grip on the strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global energy supplies.
But even as Iran’s president said the country had returned “full-scale war”, the Iranian interior minister travelled to Pakistan – a key mediator in the conflict – for talks. In key developments: The latest US strikes came hours after Donald Trump said Iran would pay “many times over” for killing US soldiers after multiple service members were killed in action over the weekend.
A tanker came under attack early Tuesday in the Hormuz strait off Oman, forcing the crew to abandon the vessel, the British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards claimed the attack as well as two other attacks on ships in the waterway on Monday.
The US military’s Central Command said its latest airstrikes were to “degrade” Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping in the strait and included hitting military command centres and missile and drone launch sites. Iranian media reported strikes in parts of the country including Bandar Abbas, Tabriz and Bushehr, home to the country’s only operational civilian nuclear power.
Iran’s launched attacks in response against Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, which all host US forces. Oil prices softened after hitting their highest levels in more than a month in the previous session. Brent crude futures eased 0.4% to $88.87 a barrel by 0052 GMT on Tuesday while US West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery was steady at $82.
47 a barrel. Democrats have seized on the deaths of three US troops killed in Iranian strikes to urge Trump to urgently reverse his resumption of the war with Iran amid widespread anxiety over climbing casualties. The Lebanese army began taking charge of security in three southern villages, the US said, as a deal to secure an Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah faced its first test on the ground.
US forces struck the tanker Settebello in the Gulf of Oman on June 10, killing three Indian crew members when munitions hit the engine room and adjacent areas. Maritime tracking data indicate the vessel had transported Iranian oil under US sanctions for several years and conducted offshore transfers prior to the strike.
The US military described the action as a precision operation, while reports note the ship was stationary at the time.