International News Trade

Iran Loves This: The Royal Navy Doesn’t Have Enough Ships to Patrol Persian Gulf

Iran Loves This: The Royal Navy Doesn’t Have Enough Ships to Patrol Persian Gulf

The Royal Navy plans briefly to double its number of warships in the Persian Gulf following an attempted attack by Iranian forces on a British oil tanker on June 20, 2019.

But the temporary increase in British warships in the region, from one to two, underscores just how few ships the Royal Navy can deploy even in an emergency.


Iranian boats tried to “impede” the British oil tanker near the Strait of Hormuz, the BBC reported. HMS Montrose, a Type 23 frigate, “was forced to move between the three boats and the tanker,” according to the BBC.


Newsom’s wife lashes out at Trump after he rips ’60 Minutes’ host: ‘Internalized misogyny’
Mamdani’s education plan’s ‘lack of merit’ could fundamentally change student outcomes: GOP leader warns
Watch: Bubba Wallace Sparks NASCAR Mega-Crash That Sweeps Up the Majority of the Field
Injured Secret Service agent fired five shots at Cole during Trump assassination attempt
Trump Calls for Jimmy Kimmel to Be ‘Immediately Fired by ABC and Disney’ After ‘Beyond the Pale’ Melania Stunt
Charles goes to Washington: King visits Trump with ‘special relationship’ at a low
WHCA dinner shooting becomes ‘make or break’ for Kash Patel
Hakeem Jeffries doubles down on ‘maximum warfare’ rhetoric, tells critics ‘I don’t give a damn’
Illegal migrant accused of NY dumpster rape captured on Texas bus as he fled toward southern border: DA
Sun-soaked Boca Bash revelers meet badge blitz as cops flood wild floating party scene
Clip of James Carville Saying He Wants Trump ‘to Suffer’ Resurfaces Following Assassination Attempt
Karoline Leavitt Says DHS Situation Is a ‘National Emergency’ in the Wake of WHCD Shooting
Dem Senate hopefuls under scrutiny for ‘choke them out’ rhetoric after Trump attack scare
Trump admin tightens vise on student aid fraud in ‘ghost student’ crackdown
‘You Should Be Ashamed’: Trump Unleashes on CBS’ Norah O’Donnell Over Question About WHCD Gunman
See also  Iran fires on multiple ships in Strait of Hormuz after ceasefire extension

The British government claimed the attacking boats belonged to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps militia. The IRGC also allegedly was behind several recent bomb attacks targeting oil tankers in the Gulf and surrounding waters.

Tensions have escalated in the Middle East following U.S. president Donald Trump decision unilaterally to withdraw the United States from the 2015 deal limiting Iran’s nuclear program. After Trump restored economic sanctions, Tehran resumed stockpiling uranium.

The July 2019 tanker incident compelled the Royal Navy to accelerate by several weeks a planned deployment to the Gulf by the Type 45 destroyer HMS Duncan. Montrose and Duncan together will patrol the Persian Gulf before Montrose returns to U.K. waters for maintenance.

Duncan sailed south through the Bosphorus on July 13, 2019. The destroyer had been in the Black Sea region for NATO exercises.

Read more here

Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter