LONDON, March 19. /TASS/. The UK, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Japan are ready to support efforts to ensure safe navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, their leaders said in a joint statement released by the office of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
"We express our readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts to ensure safe passage through the Strait. We welcome the commitment of nations who are engaging in preparatory planning," the statement reads.
The document also condemns "recent attacks by Iran on unarmed commercial vessels in the Gulf, attacks on civilian infrastructure including oil and gas installations, and the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces." "We express our deep concern about the escalating conflict. We call on Iran to cease immediately its threats, laying of mines, drone and missile attacks and other attempts to block the Strait to commercial shipping, and to comply with UN Security Council Resolution 2817," the statement points out. However, there is no criticism of US and Israeli strikes on civilian facilities in Iran.
The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were also hit.
On March 2, Major General Ebrahim Jabari of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that the Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately one-fifth of the world's oil exports passes, would be closed to shipping due to Israeli and US military action against Iran. On March 5, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that the strait was not closed but ships and tankers were not attempting to cross it for fear of attacks from both sides.