Leaders of Germany, Britain and France hold call on Iran: Reports
The leaders of France, Britain and Germany are currently holding a phone call about the situation in Iran, said a German government spokesperson on Friday.
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Asharq Al-Awsat
30 minutes ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Ships Warned to Avoid Red Sea, Log Hormuz Voyages after Israel Hits Iran
Merchant shipping is continuing to pass through the Strait of Hormuz despite Israel's attacks on Iran on Friday, the multinational, US-led Combined Maritime Force said, although some shipowners were looking to avoid the region. Iran has in the past threatened to close the critical Strait of Hormuz to traffic in retaliation for Western pressure. Any closure of the Strait could restrict trade and impact global oil prices. "The Strait of Hormuz remains open and commercial traffic continues to flow uninterrupted," the Combined Maritime Force said in advisory, adding that events over the past day had increased the likelihood of regional conflict to "significant". Greece and Britain have advised their merchant shipping fleets to avoid sailing through the Gulf of Aden and to log all voyages through the Strait of Hormuz following Israel's attacks on Iran, documents seen by Reuters showed. "We have reports that more ship owners are now exercising extra caution and are opting to stay away from the Red Sea' and the Arabian Gulf, said Jakob Larsen, chief safety & security officer with shipping association BIMCO. If the United States is perceived to be involved in any attacks, "the risk of escalation increases significantly", Larsen said. "Such an escalation could include missile attacks on ships or laying of sea mines in the Strait (of Hormuz)." Israel said it had targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders during the start of a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Iran denies having any such plan. "Hormuz is a critical waterway, without alternative, for tanker trades and any impediment or threat to free movement of shipping would have a significant effect upon the world's economy," tanker shipping association INTERTANKO said. Greek ship owners were urged to send details of their vessels sailing through the Strait of Hormuz to Greece's maritime ministry, according to one of the documents issued by Greece's shipping association, which was sent on Friday. Greek owners control the world's biggest tanker fleet. "Due to developments in the Middle East and the escalation of military actions in the wider region, the (Greek) Ministry of Shipping ... urgently calls on shipping companies to send ... the details of Greek-owned ships that are sailing in the maritime area of the Strait of Hormuz," the document said. All UK-flagged vessels, which include the Gibraltar, Bermuda and Isle of Man 'red ensign' registries, were advised to avoid sailing through the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, a separate document issued by the UK's transport ministry said. If sailing through those areas, vessels must adhere to their highest level of security measures and limit the number of crew on deck during voyages, said the advisory, seen by Reuters. The European Union's naval mission in the Red Sea, Aspides, is continuing operations as normal but is monitoring developments in the region, an Aspides official told Reuters.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Jordan reopens airspace on Saturday, aviation commission says
Jordan reopened its airspace at 7:30 a.m. (0530 GMT), the civil aviation commission said, a day after it suspended flights amid Iran–Israel tensions.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Al Arabiya
Exclusive Mike Pompeo: Israeli strikes on Iran made the world ‘a heck of a lot safer'
Former US Secretary of State and CIA Director Mike Pompeo has strongly defended Israel's military campaign on Iran, calling it a strategic necessity that has made the world 'a heck of a lot safer.' In an exclusive interview on Al Arabiya English's GNT, presented by Tom Burges Watson, Pompeo said the Israeli strikes have significantly diminished Iran's capacity to threaten regional security. 'The air defense systems in Iran are virtually useless,' he said. 'Now the Israelis are undertaking an effort to push back the great threat to the region, which was a nuclear-armed Iran… That makes the world a heck of a lot safer in my judgment.' Israel has said it targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Pompeo, who served under President Donald Trump, said he believed Israel had 'no choice' but to act preemptively, adding that his instinct tells him this is not a one-off operation. 'My instincts tell me the Israelis will continue this campaign until they have materially set back the capacity of Iran… to create a deterrence model that prevents Iran from ever thinking they can head back down that path again.' 'It was go time' Addressing recent diplomatic efforts reportedly underway in Oman, Pompeo dismissed the notion that the talks were meaningful. 'My sense is that the talks weren't very advanced… They were trying to drag this up. They were playing for time, hoping they got someone like President Biden back in office.' He said Israel likely assessed that diplomacy had run its course and that 'it was go time.' Defending Trump's Iran policy Pompeo stood firmly behind the Trump administration's 2018 decision to exit the Iran nuclear deal, the JCPOA, calling it 'absolutely the right decision.' 'I only wish President Biden had kept the pressure campaign on Iran and they hadn't had billions of dollars to conduct the terror in the region… including one of the greatest massacres of modern times on October 7th of 2023,' Pompeo said. He also urged the UK and other European powers to reinstate UN sanctions on Iran, calling it a chance to 'gain leverage on the Iranian regime.' Is escalation inevitable? Despite the scale of Israel's strikes, Pompeo downplayed the risk of regional war. 'I think we have regional conflict, right? The Iranians have been fighting in Iraq, in Yemen, in Lebanon, in Syria, in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank against decent people all across the world for decades,' he said. 'And so…the Iranian's are the ones that bring a regional conflict.' While warning of possible cyber or terror attacks, he concluded that Iran's ability to escalate was limited. 'If they come after Americans, that will be the end… If they escalate drastically, the whole world will see that they are, in fact, the bad actor that we've known them to be for the past decades.'
