Iran war: Cooper defends UK-France’s Strait of Hormuz plan amid Rubio ‘catch-22’ claim
Yvette Cooper defended Britain and France’s proposed mission to secure the Strait of Hormuz once the Iran war ends, despite US Secretary of State Marco Rubio describing the plan as “catch 22”.
The initiative, designed to support ships on the critical global shipping route held by Tehran, “has been discussed with the United States many times,” the Foreign Secretary noted.
Mr. Rubio questioned the need for naval escorts “if no one is shooting,” but acknowledged it could provide initial assurance for shipping.
“They’ve put together this initiative where they say they’re going to send minesweepers and escort ships, but they’re going to do that when hostilities end. It’s kind of a catch-22,” he told Congress.
Asked whether that was a fair description, the foreign secretary said: “I think the point is that we would like it not to be needed, but we are making preparations and ensuring that our maritime capability is ready.
“Therefore, what we want is a ceasefire, the removal of all mines by Iran, and also the provision of safe passage and international shipping to return to normal.
“But the reason we’re putting together the maritime mission, which we’ve discussed many times with the United States and 50 countries around the world, is to ensure that we have additional demining capacity wherever it may be needed and also to have support there to be able to provide escort or assurance of transportation if necessary.
“The most important thing is to put in place the international agreement so that international shipping can return to normal without the need for any further measures. But we need to show that we have the maritime support to get there.”
The narrow Gulf channel became a flashpoint in the conflict, which has entered its fourth month, when the US military announced an attack on an Iranian ground control station on an island near the strait on Tuesday evening.
US Central Command said Iran struck the area on Qeshm Island, where the desalination plant is located, in response to missiles fired at Kuwait and Bahrain.
The USA said that two missiles fired at Kuwait were destroyed on the way, while the missiles targeting Bahrain were shot down.
The vital supply route for oil and gas was open to shipping before the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran in February.
Tehran’s chokehold on the strait shocked economies around the world, including the UK, and led to a rise in oil prices.
This led the United States to impose its own blockade, resulting in an ongoing standoff and the stranding of nearly 1,500 cargo ships amid a fragile ceasefire rocked by strikes.
Appearing before the Senate foreign relations committee, Rubio said the United States had not offered to ease sanctions on Iran in exchange for reopening the strait, emphasizing that this was an important demand as part of any deal.
Washington argued that Europe needed sea lanes “much more than we do” and that ensuring the free passage of ships was “their challenge rather than ours.”
Plans carried out by Britain and France to protect shipping in the canal also increased US criticism of the allied response to the conflict; Mr. Rubio has previously suggested this “doesn’t make sense.”
The proposed defense mission would see the UK deploy the destroyer HMS Dragon, as well as autonomous mine hunting equipment, anti-drone systems and Typhoon jets.
Speaking at the convention, Mr. Rubio said freeing the strait would be at the top of the agenda of the upcoming G7 summit.
“On the one hand, if no one is firing on ships, why do you need naval escorts?” he said.
“I don’t discount the usefulness of this, however, because I imagine the first few ships that pass will enjoy being escorted. So I think that will be an important feature of this conversation.”
