The United Arab Emirates plans to join a multinational naval mission to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. They are working to build a broad international coalition to secure the route.
Financial Times reported this, citing informed sources.
Details
According to Financial Times, the UAE informed the U.S. and other Western countries that it can deploy its naval forces:
“We aim to create the widest possible international force. This is not about war with Iran. Iran declared war on the global economy, and people must respond,” one source said.
Alongside Bahrain, the UAE is pushing a UN Security Council draft resolution that could give the future operation an international mandate. Russia and China could oppose the resolution.
Iran’s attacks have sharply reduced traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, as it seeks to maintain control over a critical oil and gas shipping route. UAE senior official Sultan al-Jaber stated that Iran “holds the strait hostage,” and the consequences affect the entire world.
Currently, the UAE and Bahrain are the only Gulf countries openly supporting the international initiative. Other regional states have not formed a joint position yet. They are considering alternative energy routes, including pipelines and railways.
Two officials said regional states could accelerate construction of pipelines and railways to transport energy resources overland to Oman or the Mediterranean.
Context
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical route for global energy, with about 20% of the world’s oil supply passing through it. Amid the conflict involving Iran, traffic through the strait has effectively been blocked.
This has already led to:
- a sharp rise in gas prices in Europe;
- strikes on energy infrastructure in the region, including in Qatar;
- risks to global supply chains.
Ahead of the US-Israeli strike on Iran, Donald Trump and his advisers underestimated risks to energy markets. They viewed a potential blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and disruption to commercial shipping as a short-term issue. They believed it would not interfere with the military operation.
Earlier, The Ukrainian Review reported that six countries – the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan – expressed their readiness to join efforts to ensure safe shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
