US military to strengthen safety measures in Gulf after Iran seizes tankers

By Reuters: The US military will work to bolster the defensive posture inside the Gulf space following Iran’s seizure and harassment of financial supply vessels in newest months, US officers talked about on Friday. In the earlier two years, Iran has harassed, attacked or interfered with the navigational rights of 15 internationally flagged industrial vessels, officers talked about.

“The Department of Defense will be making a series of moves to bolster our defensive posture in the Arabian Gulf,” White House spokesperson John Kirby suggested a data briefing. Kirby added that inside the coming weeks there may be an attempt to “increase coordination and interoperability” with allies inside the Strait of Hormuz.

The US Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet talked about it was working with regional allies to increase the rotation of ships and aircraft patrolling throughout the Strait of Hormuz.

“Iran’s unwarranted, irresponsible and unlawful seizure and harassment of merchant vessels must stop,” the Fifth Fleet’s commander, Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, talked about in an announcement.

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A spokesperson from the US military’s Florida-based Central Command, which oversees American forces inside the Middle East, talked about the United States was discussing decisions with regional companions.

“Any decisions about force posture will be made after consulting with our allies and will be consistent with the collective desire to ensure the safety and freedom of navigation for all nation,” the spokesperson talked about.

The strikes come after Iran seized a second oil tanker in each week in Gulf waters earlier this month, and the State Department known as for its launch inside the latest escalation in a sequence of actions in direction of industrial vessels in Gulf waters since 2019.

The U.S. Navy talked about on May 3 the Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi was seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy whereas passing by the use of the Strait of Hormuz. Days earlier, Iran had seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker inside the Gulf of Oman.

Kirby talked about the United States strongly condemns actions that threaten and intervene with industrial supply, and will not allow worldwide powers to jeopardize navigating Middle East waterways.

About a fifth of the world’s crude oil and oil merchandise passes by the use of the Strait of Hormuz, a choke degree between Iran and Oman, based mostly on information from analytics company Vortexa.