US had proposed a military patrol in the Straits of Hormuz and Bab al - Mandab, water area of Iran and Yemen as a response to Iran’s recently provocations.

The amphibious assault ship USS Kearsage in the Arabian Sea (photo: The Guardian)

According to the Pentagon, the US asks to form a military coalition to protect the strategic water from the Iran’s threat, especially, after the attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf and Iran recently warned to develop its nuclear program.

As in the plan, the US and its allies would bring surveillance ships around the water area of Iran and Yemen with their nation flag. Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff said “We’re engaging now with a number of countries to see if we can put together a coalition that would ensure freedom of navigation both in the Straits of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab”.

He also added “And so I think probably over the next couple of weeks we’ll identify which nations have the political will to support that initiative and then we’ll work directly with the militaries to identify the specific capabilities that’ll support that”

Iran had threatened to block the Straits of Hormuz where a fifth of the world oil is exported. Moreover, the US, Saudi Arabia and UAE coalition was disturbed by the attacks of Houthi fighters, backed by Iran in Bab al-Mandab waterway. Nearly 4 million of barrels of oil are passed through Bab al – Mandab to Europe, US and Asia.

The US’s military patrol proposal is as a new step in the perspective of the escalated tension between Iran and the US, particularly, after Iran challenged to build up its enrichment of uranium to break the limit set on the 2015 nuclear deal although European powers had efforts to ease the tension.

The Guardian ( Van Nguyen )