WASHINGTON: The United States and its allies are discussing plans to provide naval escorts for oil tankers through the Gulf, a top US general said Thursday after Iranian military vessels menaced a British tanker.
General Mark Milley, nominated to become the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Senate hearing that the US has a “crucial role” in enforcing freedom of navigation in the Gulf.
He said the US was attempting to put together a coalition “in terms of providing military escort, naval escort to commercial shipping.”
“I think that that will be developing over the next couple weeks.”
Milley, currently chief of staff of the army, confirmed less specific remarks by current Joint Chiefs Chairman General Joseph Dunford earlier this week.
Dunford told media that the Pentagon was working to identify possible partners in an effort to protect navigation in the Straits of Hormuz and Bab Al-Mandab on either side of the Arabian peninsula where much of the world’s crude oil traffic passes.
Milley’s remarks came after London said Thursday that armed Iranian boats tried to block a supertanker before being warned off by a British warship in a dramatic escalation in the Gulf.
The British defense ministry said three Iranian boats tried to “impede the passage” of the British Heritage, a 274-meter (899-foot) tanker owned by BP that can carry a million barrels of oil.
“We are concerned by this action and continue to urge the Iranian authorities to de-escalate the situation in the region,” a Downing Street spokesman said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards denied involvement but also cautioned both the United States and Britain that they would “strongly regret” the British detention of a tanker carrying Iranian crude oil off Gibraltar last week.
US, allies planning naval escort for Gulf tankers
US, allies planning naval escort for Gulf tankers
- General Mark Milley told a Senate hearing that the US has a "crucial role" in enforcing freedom of navigation in the Gulf
- He said the US was attempting to put together a coalition "in terms of providing military escort, naval escort to commercial shipping"
Thousands of refugees return home to Syria from Lebanon after Israeli strikes
- Jousieh border crossing in Homs province becomes a busy point of entry as growing numbers of Syrians return amid escalating regional conflict
- Authorities report that traffic between Syria and Lebanon is flowing without any disruptions
LONDON: Thousands of refugees living in Lebanon have returned to their native Syria since Saturday, as Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon intensify amid tensions over the US-Israeli conflict against Iran, and Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israel.
Raed Al-Saleh, Syria’s disaster management and emergency response minister, said the Jousieh border crossing between Qaa in Lebanon and Qusair in Syria’s Homs province has become a busy entry point as growing numbers of Syrians return.
Elsewhere, Syrian Civil Defense teams, working under the Emergency and Disaster Management Ministry, implemented a humanitarian-response plan at the Jdeidet Yabous border crossing between rural Damascus and Masnaa as large numbers of people arrived from Lebanon.
Authorities said that traffic between Syria and Lebanon was flowing without disruptions, the Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
Israel has attacked several targets in Lebanon, including Beirut, after a missile fired from southern Lebanon hit northern Israel on Monday.
Currently, 532,357 Syrian refugees are registered with the UN Human Rights Council. However, the Lebanese government estimates the true number who fled the civil war in Syria, which began in 2011 and ended with the collapse of the Assad regime in December 2024, is about 1.12 million.
