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UAE follows Saudi Arabia in joining US-led Gulf flotilla

September 19, 2019
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talks to United Arab Emirates Minister of State Ahmed Al-Sayegh upon his arrival at Al-Bateen Air Base in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. — AFP
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talks to United Arab Emirates Minister of State Ahmed Al-Sayegh upon his arrival at Al-Bateen Air Base in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. — AFP

DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates followed Saudi Arabia Thursday in joining a US-led force to protect Gulf shipping as tensions with Iran soared following twin attacks on key Saudi oil facilities.

The United States has pushed for the creation of the International Maritime Security Construct to safeguard trade and the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz.

It has so far been joined by Australia and Britain as well as Bahrain, the Gulf island state which is home to the US Fifth Fleet.

The initiative followed a number of mystery attacks on oil tankers and facilities in and around the strategic waterway through which a third of the world's seaborne oil passes.

Tensions have risen further since Saturday when twin attacks blamed by Washington and Riyadh on Tehran hit the world's largest oil processing plant and a major oilfield in Saudi Arabia.

"The UAE's accession to the alliance comes in support of regional and international efforts to deter threats to maritime navigation and global trade," the director of its international security cooperation department, Salem Mohammed Al-Zaabi, said in a statement.

Al-Zaabi said the UAE joined "in order to secure the flow of energy supplies to the global economy and contribute to maintaining international peace and security.

The UAE was to host talks on Thursday with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who is on a Gulf tour to discuss Washington's response to the strikes on Saudi Arabia's oil industry.

Pompeo described the attacks as an "act of war", as Riyadh unveiled new evidence it said showed the assault was "unquestionably" sponsored by Iran.

In a later development, Iraq's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday it would not join an international maritime mission to protect commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and other areas, the Iraqi state news agency reported.

The ministry also rejected any participation by Israel in that coalition, and said that security in the Gulf was the responsibility of Gulf states. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have announced they are joining the mission.

— AFP


September 19, 2019
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