The Royal Navy will accompany British-flagged vessels through the Strait of Hormuz to provide protection during high tensions in the region, according to the Defense Secretary Ben Wallace. As he stated, he has instructed HMS Montrose and HMS Defender to return to accompanying duties of Red Ensign Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
This came after a US drone killed Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, after an order from the US President Donald Trump. This action worsened the relationships between the US and Iran.
Taking action after the attack, Mr. Wallace talked with the US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, and called all parties to de-escalate the situation.
As far as Iran is concerned, after the attack, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani have vowed to retaliate against the US, as Xinhua news agency reports.
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In the meantime, China said that it opposes to the abuse of force in international relations, while the German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas urged all parties to de-escalate the situation.
During last July, the UK Government announced that the Royal Navy would escort British-flagged vessels when sailing though the Strait of Hormuz in support of free navigation, after noting that they didn’t have the resources to do so in the past.
In September, it was further stated that the presence of the UK warships in the Strait of Hormuz has stabilized the commercial shipping operations, following the tensions in the area after Iran seized a UK-flagged tanker in the region, a British navy official reported to Reuters.
It is further reminded that the six attacks against commercial vessels, the shoot-downs of a US Navy drone and an Iranian drone and the seizure of the UK-flagged ‘Stena Impero’ by Iranian authorities had caused disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route for world oil supply.
