Washington doubts the seriousness of forming a naval alliance comprising Iran and Gulf states
U.S. officials have voiced concerns over Iran’s announcement of a new maritime alliance involving several Gulf states as Iranian-Gulf relations improve following the resumption of ties between Tehran and Riyadh.
A U.S. military official said the naval alliance that Iran has announced it will forge with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states is “counterintuitive” in casting doubt on its potential for a de facto union.
“It defies common sense that Iran, the primary culprit in regional instability, wants to form a maritime security alliance to protect the waters that threaten it,” Tim Hawkins, spokesman for the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, said Sunday night in a report on military news website Breaking Defense.
“In the last two years alone, Iran has attacked or seized 15 commercial vessels flying international flags,” he said.
“The actions are important, which is why we are strengthening defense around the Strait of Hormuz with partners,” he said.
The Iranian military announced that a joint alliance between the Iranian navy and regional countries, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Iraq, would be formed in the near future.
The alliance, which was formed with Russia, China, Oman and Pakistan, is expanding and will include India and countries in the region including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain and Iraq, the Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) quoted the military as saying.
To date, there has been no response from the Gulf states concerned about the Iran-mentioned coalition.
The announcement of the new maritime alliance comes amidst the announcement by the United Arab Emirates, one of the countries concerned with the new alliance, to withdraw two months ago from a US-led maritime security coalition in the Middle East, after an assessment of cooperation in this field,” rejecting mischaracterizations contained in Western press reports about its talks with the United States on maritime security.
A Wall Street Journal report last week, citing US and Gulf sources, said the UAE was frustrated by the lack of a US response to the recent tanker seizure.
Iran is seeking to repair strained relations with several Gulf states, benefiting from the decision to resume ties with Saudi Arabia.
In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran ended seven years of animosity under a deal brokered by China, emphasizing the need for regional stability and economic cooperation.
The U.S.-led Combined Maritime Force is made up of 34 nations and is based at the U.S. Naval Base in Bahrain, working to ensure security, combat terrorism and piracy in the Red Sea and Gulf and counter Iranian threats.
The area includes some of the world’s most important shipping routes, which since 2019 has seen a series of attacks on ships as tensions between the United States and Iran escalate and the U.S. Navy’s decision to bolster its presence in Gulf waters with a planned deployment of 100 guided naval vessels as well as the transport of a nuclear submarine to the region.
