Archives of “Strait of Hormuz” tag

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With election over, US wants Abe to deliver on Iran and trade

  
Analysis, Politics
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Having scored a sound victory in the upper house election Sunday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is back to confronting thorny diplomatic issues as Washington presses for tangible results on global security and trade.

U.S. President Donald Trump had signaled that he would wait until the Japanese election is over to push for a trade deal. Now Washington is certain to step up pressure to put together an agreement palatable to U.S. farmers ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Japan is increasingly alarmed by the U.S. bringing Trump style deal-making to diplomacy and trade.

John Bolton, the U.S. national security adviser, was in the Japanese capital Monday, seeking Tokyo’s support amid rising tensions with Iran. Bolton told Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya that their two countries “are at an extremely critical juncture to strengthen the bilateral alliance.” He likely called on Tokyo to participate in a coalition that would safeguard ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard seized a British oil tanker in the strait on Friday. A Japanese-owned oil tanker also suffered an attack in the area in June.

Discussions about the future of the Japan-U.S. alliance will continue over the next several days and weeks, Bolton told reporters after his meeting with Iwaya, adding that he was very “optimistic” about the outcome.

Abe told reporters on Monday that he first wanted to focus on what Japan could do to ease tensions in the Middle East. “The peace and stability of the Middle East are critically important for Japan’s energy security,” Abe said. (more…)

US pressure & EU inaction left Iran with ‘very few options’ except to retaliate

  
Analysis, Politics
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The seizure of British-owned oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz is the signal that Iran’s patience has run out, due to European inaction for over a year after the US pullout from the nuclear deal, analysts told RT.

Prior to May, Iran exercised extreme restraint despite US sanctions and its frustration with Europe’s failure to offset the losses they caused, Hamed Mousavi, political science professor at the University of Tehran, said.

Eventually, Iran’s patience ran out, but not before the US “made sure that Iran has very few options remaining.”

“For a year Tehran was not doing anything and was abiding by the nuclear deal to the letter in the hopes that the Europeans would come up with a form of a mechanism… that would allow Iran to circumvent the US sanctions,” Mousavi said.

By refusing to hold back any longer, Iran wants to send a clear signal to the UK, “but especially to the Americans,” that Tehran has “the means and the power to respond to pressure and to aggression.” Iran’s actions are also a response to the US military build-up at its Middle East doorstep, Mousavi said.

Iranian journalist and Middle East expert Abbas Aslani agreed that the US withdrawal was what triggered the crisis along with the “inaction of the Europeans.”

The US might flex its military muscles in the Persian Gulf, but it’s likely not looking forward to entangling itself in a major war with Iran, especially with the US presidential election inching closer. In part, it is because Iran has convinced the US that it would never be a short, victorious war.

“What [US President Donald Trump] might be after is a short and quick attack against the country, but Iran has made sure through the channels it has that no quick war will happen if the Americans attack the country.”

Instead, the US would be looking at a long campaign that could see Iran attacking its military bases and interests in the region, the type of bog-down that can cost Trump his re-election.

Iran seized two British-operated vessels in the State of Hormuz on Friday, one of which has since been released after reportedly receiving warnings over safety and environmental issues.

The other vessel, the Stena Impero, is still in Iranian custody after being accused of maritime violations. Iran claimed that the tanker turned off its tracking device and ignored warnings before the seizure. The UK has denounced the incident as “unacceptable” but said that it hopes to resolve it through diplomacy.

CNN report 5 Iranian boats tried to seize a British oil tanker in Persian Gulf

  
Analysis, Politics
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Five armed Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats in the Persian Gulf tried to seize a British oil tanker

  • CNN citing two unnamed US officials “with direct knowledge of the incident”
  • tanker was transiting out of the Gulf, was crossing into the Strait of Hormuz area
  • A US aircraft was overhead and recorded video of the incident.
OK, more:
  • The British Heritage, owned by BP Shipping and registered to the Isle of Man, was due to dock in the Iraqi city of Basra at the weekend but made an unexpected U-turn.
Link (this to a UK Telegraph report, not the CNN one)
Five armed Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats in the Persian Gulf tried to seize a British oil tanker 
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