https://arab.news/gajtq
- Britain’s maritime trade operations center reported the attack after a fresh exchange of strikes between the United States and Iran
- PM Sharif says the evolving situation has highlighted more than anything else the importance of maritime security for global economy
ISLAMABAD: The right of free maritime passage and freedom of navigation were an “absolute necessity” for the entire world, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Saturday, after a tanker came under fresh attack in the Strait of Hormuz.
The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center reported the attack and said the ship’s crew was safe and no environmental damage was reported, following a fresh exchange of strikes between the United States and Iran.
Bahrain said on Saturday that Iran launched a drone attack on the island kingdom just after Tehran said it targeted US military installations to retaliate for overnight airstrikes. The strikes raised fears of the US-Iran war again spinning out of control, even after both sides reached an interim deal to end their conflict.
“The evolving regional situation has highlighted more than anything else the importance of maritime security for the global economy and international supply chains,” Pakistan PM Sharif said, addressing a commissioning parade at the Pakistan Naval Academy in Karachi.
“Today, the right of free passage and freedom of navigation are no longer luxuries but have become an absolute necessity for the entire world.”
The US had launched its airstrikes in response to an Iranian drone attack on a ship trying to get out of the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, continuing a string of attacks that have shaken the relative calm in the war that began in late Feb.
The US and Iran signed a 14-point framework agreement, known as the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding on June 18, to end their months-long war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The interim agreement started a 60-day negotiating clock to reach a final deal on the future of Iran’s nuclear program, immediately allowing Tehran to sell its oil freely in a major concession from Washington.
However, Iran has insisted that ships must obey its orders and is warning it will start charging fees for transit through the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas once passed. The US and Gulf Arab states have rejected Iran’s demands. The strait is considered around the world as an international waterway, despite being the territorial waters of Iran and Oman.
A maritime body overseen by the US Navy said Saturday that a route through the Strait of Hormuz near Oman’s shores is expanding to allow for both inbound and outbound traffic. The announcement by the Joint Maritime Information Center serves as another warning to Iran that the US is pushing to reopen the strait.
Sharif, whose country led a push together with Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other regional states for a diplomatic solution to the US-Iran conflict, said his government was fully committed to strengthening Pakistan Navy as a potent and effective force and one that is not only capable of ensuring our national defense, but also of acting as a “stabilizing force in the wider maritime region.”
“I would also like to commend the remarkable efforts of Operation Muhafiz-ul-Bahr, which has ensured the uninterrupted flow of critical energy supplies to our ports [during the US-Iran conflict],” he added.