Washington is drawing together a group of nations to jointly patrol the strategic Strait of Hormuz in response to Iran’s belligerent activities in the Persian Gulf, including Tehran’s seizure of a British-flagged ship last month.
Reports emerged last week that Iran’s arch nemesis Israel was open to contributing forces to the alliance. Although Israel’s relationship with several Gulf Arab nations has improved in recent years under US brokerage, others see Israeli involvement in Gulf security as a step too far.
“[Iraq] rejects any participation of forces of the Zionist entity in any military force to secure passage of ships in the Arabian Gulf,” Hakim tweeted, referring to the ideology of Jewish nationalism.
“Together, the Gulf States can secure the passage of ships.”
Baghdad is especially concerned about ongoing tensions between its allies in Washington and Tehran, fearing any escalation could drag Iraq into another war.
“Iraq will work to lower tensions in our region through calm negotiations,” Hakim later added, according to AFP. “The presence of Western forces in the region would raise tensions.”
According to Israeli outlet Y-Net, Israel’s Foreign Minister Israel Katz told a ministerial meeting on Tuesday that Israel had joined the US-led coalition following a meeting with UAE officials.
Tehran reacted angrily to the news.
Iran’s foreign ministry said Israeli participation in any US-led coalition to safeguard shipping rights in the Strait of Hormuz would be considered a threat to Iran’s national security.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran sees any ... presence of the occupying regime of Quds in this self-proclaimed coalition ... as a clear threat to its security, sovereignty, and the territorial integrity,” Abbas Mousavi, spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry, said Friday, according to Tasnim, a news agency close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Iran does not recognize Israel’s right to statehood and often refers to the country as the occupier of the Quds – the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and third holiest site of Islam.
“This would be a cause of creating crisis, instability in the Persian Gulf and within the framework of this country’s defensive and preventative policy, it reserves the right to confront this threat and defend itself and would not hesitate to act upon this,” Mousavi added.
Tensions have reached fever pitch in the Persian Gulf region following several mysterious attacks on vessels in recent months, the downing of a US surveillance drone in June, and the seizure of the British flagged tanker last month.
Britain and European states maintain that Iran seized the ship in international waters, but Iran insists the ship ignored instructions.
IRGC commanders have hinted they seized the ship in retaliation for the seizure of a tanker which was carrying up to two million barrels of Iranian oil off the Strait of Gibraltar.
On Thursday, the US Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration warned of a heightened threat to commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf as Iranians were interfering with GPS aboard vessels passing through the Gulf.
Iran’s Defense Minister Amir Hatami held telephone conversations with his counterparts in Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait on Thursday. He said security of the Persian Gulf could only be maintained by the regional powers. Foreign involvement would bring nothing but instability, he added.
“The American regime is the main source of insecurity in the region ... and we believe the region should not become a theatre for foreigners.”
