Hundreds of British sailors aboard the RFA Lyme Bay are waiting to be deployed for a mine-clearing mission to the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has been crippled by Iran’s chokehold. U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized allies for not doing more to support U.S. war efforts in Iran and urged NATO partners to secure the strait themselves. The Royal Navy is preparing for a possible international operation led by the UK and France, but only after a peace agreement is reached. Trump said an Iran deal is largely negotiated but still needs finalizing. The RFA Lyme Bay is being loaded with ammunition and mine-hunting sea drones, then will link with allied ships before sailing through the Suez Canal to the Persian Gulf.
"Aboard the RFA Lyme Bay docked off the coast of Gibraltar, hundreds of British sailors are waiting to be deployed for a mine-clearing mission to the Strait of Hormuz that is still in doubt. U.S. President Donald Trump has lashed out at allies for not doing more to support the United States' war effort in Iran, whose chokehold on the strait has crippled international shipping and sent energy prices soaring."
"On the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula, in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, the U.K.'s Royal Navy is preparing to do that - but only once a peace agreement is reached. Trump said Saturday that a deal with Iran has been "largely negotiated" after calls with Israel and other allies in the region, but it still needs finalizing."
"Britain's Armed Forces Minister Al Carns took a small group of reporters to visit the RFA Lyme Bay as it prepares for a possible international operation, led by the U.K. and France, to secure the strait. As Carns spoke, the amphibious landing vessel, docked at the gateway to the Mediterranean, was being loaded with ammunition and mine-hunting sea drones equipped with sonar."
"With a crew of several hundred sailors, the RFA Lyme Bay will soon depart Gibraltar to link up with the U.K. destroyer HMS Dragon and allied ships for air support before sailing through the Suez Canal to the Persian Gulf. "Which other country can pull together 40 nations and come up with a solution to deal with a complex problem that we couldn't predict because we weren't involved?" asked Carns."
Read at Fortune
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]