Section:GDN 1N PaGe:20 Edition Date:190724 Edition:03 Zone: Sent at 24/7/2019 0:07 cYanmaGentaYellowbl
••• The Guardian Wednesday 24 July 201920Coalition in Gulf
will only add to
insecurity, Iran
warns Europe
Patrick Wintour
Diplomatic editorPlans for a European-led maritime
security force in the Gulf unveiled by
the foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, hit
choppy waters yesterday.
They were rejected by Iran, met
resistance from supporters of the
incoming prime minister, Boris John-
son, and were seen by British shipping
industry experts as failing to provide a
short-term solution to the crisis facing
UK-fl agged shipping in the area.
On Monday, Hunt called for a
European-led force, making clear he
thought a proposed rival plan for a
US force was likely to be seen by the
Iranians as an escalatory step.
The US rejection last May of the
Iranian deal has set off a chain of
events culminating in the seizure last
Friday of the British-fl agged tanker
Stena Impero. Hunt condemned this
as an act of state piracy.
The Iranian vice- president, Eshaq
Jahangiri , said any international
coalition to protect the Gulf would
only bring insecurity. “There is no
need to form a coalition because these
kinds of coalitions and the presence
of foreigners in the region by itself
creates insecurity,” he said. “ It will
not achieve anything else.”
Iran has dispatched one of its most
senior diplomats, Abbas Araghchi ,
to Paris for talks with the French
president, Emmanuel Macron, to fi nd
a way out of the impasse. He is said to
be carrying a written message from
Hassan Rouhani, Iran ’s president.
Iran said it would attend a meeting
on Sunday in Vienna of diplomats from
countries still supporting the 2015
nuclear deal, as they try to salvage
the agreement.
European leaders have broadly
welcomed Hunt’s plan, although it is
seen as ironic that the UK is proposinga European security initiative at the
point it plans to the leave the E U.
But rather than a solely EU initia-
tive, the UK envisages a multinational
maritime operation that could include
countries in the Gulf region , which is
perceived as faster to set up than an EU
mission. Britain is facing pressure from
the shipping industry to protect the
$500bn (£4 48bn) of goods that pass
through the strait each year.
A British diplomat said: “We are
engaging our partners around the
world, including within the EU,” add-
ing: “EU partners have expressed
interest in our proposal.”
Johnson’s allies appear to be willing
to continue Britain’s support for the
Iran nuclear deal, but see no need for
the US to be excluded from plans for
maritime security patrols in the Gulf.
There is resentment that Hunt is
attempting far-reaching steps with
implications for the “ special rela-
tionship” when he may be living on
borrowed time as foreign secretary.
The Foreign Offi ce said any dis-
tinct European-led maritime initiative
would not exclude America but work
in cooperation with US naval forces.
Many British ships, fearing capture
by Iran, might not fl y the British fl ag
until they feel fully protected. They
are seeking talks with the Department
for Transport over interim protection.
British shipping executives said
the cost of war insurance for shipping
going through the strait of Hormuz was
soaring. Costs for a voyage through
the strait for a very large crude carrier ,
the most common supertanker , were
expected to rise by about £400,000.
Some Iranian MPs have called for
tolls on British and US ships moving
through the strait.
Iran’s foreign minister, Javad Zarif ,
said Johnson needed to understand
that Iran was not seeking confron-
tation. Speaking after meeting his
Nicaraguan counterpart, Denis
Mon cada , on Monday, he said: “It’s
important for e veryone to reali se,
it’s important for Boris Johnson to
understand, Iran does not seek con-
frontation. Iran wants to have normal
relations based on mutual respect .”
He made no reference to the UK’s
proposal of a maritime protection
force but said: “We have 1,500 miles
of coastline in the Persian Gulf. We are
responsible for the security and the
freedom of navigation in the Persian
Gulf. That is our lifeline.”▲ Revolutionary Guards patrol the
port where the tanker is anchoredAnalysis
Patrick WintourPuzzling and paradoxical – but
Hunt has method in nailing
Britain’s colours to the EU mast
I
n possibly his last act as
foreign secretary, Jeremy
Hunt signalled Britain’s
determination to continue
to co-operate with Europe
on defence and to side
with its nearest neighbours, not
Washington, on how to curb Iranian
nuclear ambitions.
He told MPs on Monday he
wanted to form a European
maritime security force to defend
shipping in the Gulf, rather than join
a US-led force. The two might work
in co-operation, but they were to be
distinct.
With Boris Johnson’s pledge
of a “do or die” Brexit so close,
Hunt’s decision may seem puzzlingto the point of paradoxical.
But it is a very practical set of
judg ments. Washington’s proposed
Gulf maritime force – dubbed
Operation Sentinel – is struggling
to leave harbour. Many Europeans,
defenders of the Iran nuclear deal,
will have nothing to do with a
US force.
Assembling an American fl otilla
is also proving diffi cult elsewhere
in the world. John Bolton, the US
national security adviser , visited
Japan on Monday but reportedly
failed to persuade Tokyo to join
Operation Sentinel.
Japan richly benefi ts from
freedom of navigation around the
Gulf, as it imports a large quantity ofoil from the region. Donald Trump
is keen to persuade more Asian
countries to contribute – at least
fi nancially – to Sentinel, and very
much had the country in mind.
But Tokyo wishes to preserve its
role as a mediator between the US
and Tehran. The Japanese prime
minister, Shinzo Abe, visited Tehran
only last month, and Tokyo can
hardly aff ord to be sailing under the
command of one of the forces with
which it is trying to mediate.
The UK foreign offi ce reasons the
way to maximise participation in the
maritime protection force is to have
forces that support the nuclear deal
in command, rather than the US.
There may also an element of
Britain trying to recover its position
with Tehran after it co-operated
with the US to seize an Iranian
tanker, allegedly travelling to
Syria, off Gibraltar. Valid legal
justifi cations exist for the seizure –
the enforcement of an EU embargo- but to Iran, it looked as if the UK
was helping enforce a US policy to
prevent all Iranian oil exports.
By distancing itself from the US
on the issue of a naval protection
force, the UK does something to
reassert its independence. And
such an operation is not beyond the
means of European navies. For the
РЕЛИЗ ПОДГОТОВИЛА ГРУППА "What's News" VK.COM/WSNWS