The senior researcher at the Soufan Institute for Strategic and International Security Studies, Professor Kenneth Kutzman, justified Washington’s intention to deploy soldiers on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz by selling Iran drones to Russia and its recent attack and seizure of commercial ships.
Kutzman also attributed this possible step to the fact that the US military presence in the Gulf region did not deter Iran, in addition to the fact that the goal is to reassure the Gulf states, which he said had begun to question the extent of the Americans’ commitment to the security of the region.
Earlier, the Associated Press quoted 5 US officials as saying that the US military is considering deploying soldiers on board commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, in an unprecedented measure to stop Iran’s seizure and harassment of civilian ships.
But Kotzman warned at the same time that the deployment of American soldiers on unprotected merchant ships would lead to an escalation, and might make these soldiers vulnerable to attack by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces and its boats deployed there, and perhaps the capture of American soldiers, he said.
On the other hand, the American professor revealed – in his interview with the (4/8/2023) episode of the “Beyond the News” program – that during the Iraq-Iran war, Washington sent warships to accompany commercial ships when Tehran was attacking them to deprive Iraq of its commercial resources.
In terms of the Iranian position regarding Washington’s announcement of the possibility of deploying soldiers on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the researcher specializing in regional issues, Muhammad Salih Sadeqian, talked about two issues. The other is that it wants to manage any friction that may occur in the region.
As for the matters that Washington does not announce in its “provocative” step – as the Iranian researcher adds – they may relate to its endeavor to target the initiative that he said that Tehran put forward for dialogue, cooperation and a maritime alliance between it and the Gulf states.
However, the same spokesman made it clear that the United States is still leading talks with the Iranian side in the Sultanate of Oman, perhaps to resume talks to implement the prisoner exchange deal between the two sides and the release of frozen Iranian deposits, stressing that the Americans are currently dealing with Iran according to plan “C” and not plan “B”, which Use the military option.
Unjustified move
As for the political science professor at Kuwait University, Dr. Abdullah Al-Shayji, he believed that the American announcement regarding the possibility of deploying soldiers on board commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz is an unjustified step and a mere show of force.
Al-Shayji stressed that the United States does not have a clear strategy in the Middle East other than protecting Israel, which is retreating in the region, which was confirmed by the study of the annual document of the US defense strategy issued last October.
He said that the statement by US officials about the deployment of military personnel on commercial ships is unprecedented and incomprehensible and will not reassure the Gulf states, considering that the meeting of the Fifth Fleet Commander, Brad Cooper, with the Secretary-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Jassem Muhammad Al-Budaiwi, is only part of the routine work of coordination and cooperation.
Al-Shayji called on Iran to rethink its calculations and not to provoke the Gulf states, especially in light of its rapprochement with the countries of the region and with Saudi Arabia in particular.
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2023-08-04 19:50:55
