Stark Iran warning as HMS Dragon 'escalation' set to be met with 'immediate response' in Strait of Hormuz
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British and French forces are moving to the Strait of Hormuz, with Iran threatening to act in response
A Royal Navy warship’s deployment to the Middle East has been branded as “escalation” and will result in an “immediate response”, Iran has threatened.
Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, has warned that Tehran will act in a “decisive” manner following HMS Dragon’s movement towards the Strait of Hormuz. The Portsmouth-based Type 45 destroyer will “pre-position” in the region ready to join the UK-French initiative to safeguard the strategic waterway once hostilities cease between Iran and US-Israeli forces.
FS Charles de Gaulle, a mammoth aircraft carrier and crown of the French Navy, is also being deployed to the Red Sea. Responding to this in a fiery X statement, Mr Gharhibabadi said: “Any deployment and stationing of extra-regional destroyers around the Strait of Hormuz, under the pretext of ‘protecting shipping’, is nothing but an escalation of the crisis, the militarization of a vital waterway, and an attempt to cover up the true root of insecurity in the region.
“Maritime security cannot be ensured through displays of military power; especially not by actors who, through their support, participation, or silence in the face of aggression and siege, are themselves part of the problems. The source of insecurity in the region lies in the illegal resort to force, the ongoing threats against coastal states, maritime sieges, and disregard for the United Nations Charter.”
The Iranian official said only Tehran can establish security in the Strait of Hormuz whether in peace or war, and will not allow any other nation to interfere. He added: “The presence of French and British warships, or those of any other country potentially accompanying the illegal and internationally unlawful actions of the United States in the Strait of Hormuz, will be met with a decisive and immediate response from the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Therefore, they are strongly advised not to complicate the situation further.”
Ceasefire holding
HMS Dragon was previously deployed in the eastern Mediterranean to protect Cyprus, after the RAF Akrotiri base was hit by a kamikaze drone. The government believes the nation has sufficient protection, so the Daring-class air defence destroyer will head to the Middle East. Around 40 nations will join a multinational plan to escort shipping through the Strait of Hormuz when conditions allow.
Roughly 20 per cent of the world’s crude oil and liquified natural gas is transported through the strategic waterway, with standoff causing fuel prices to skyrocket and chaos in world markets.
A defence source previously said: “This move is all about being prepared, should the conditions allow for our coalition to begin its work. The UK and France will continue to lead these efforts, turning diplomatic consensus into military options.”
The US and Iran have reached a fresh impasse in peace talks. A current ceasefire is increasingly shaky, with the two sides exchanging fire in recent days with ships and Gulf states being targeted. Iran insists it wants to see the American blockade end and sanctions lifted before beginning negotiations over its stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The US and Israel want that material removed since it could be used to eventually build a nuclear bomb, should Iran choose to do so. President Donald Trump branded Iran’s response as “totally unacceptable”.