US makes new efforts to unblock Strait of Hormuz
Ships and boats stranded in the Strait of Hormuz
The US is pushing for a new international coalition to restart shipping in the Strait of Hormuz as talks with Tehran stall, US outlets are reporting.
The State Department sent an internal cable to US embassies calling on diplomats to convince governments around the world to join the ‘Maritime Freedom Construct,’ a US-led bloc to share information, coordinate diplomatically, and enforce sanctions, the Wall Street Journal has reported.
Iran has sought to extract a price for being attacked by exerting control over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which one-fifth of global oil typically transits.
As oil prices remain elevated for weeks, Trump has called on allies to unblock the strait, saying last month that ‘this should have always been a team effort.’
The coalition will see the State Department serving as a ‘diplomatic operations hub’ and the US Central Command providing ‘real-time maritime domain awareness,’ the Journal reported, citing the cable sent on Tuesday.
