Italy said Wednesday it was sending two warships closer to the Gulf but would only deploy them as part of an international mission in case of a lasting truce in the region.
Speaking to parliament, Defense Minister Guido Crosetto also said that a possible mission to the Strait of Hormuz could only happen with prior approval from lawmakers.
Iran has effectively blockaded the Strait, through which around a fifth of global oil supplies used to transit, since it came under attack from the US and Israel in February.
The confrontation has wrought economic havoc around the world, pushing up oil and fertilizer prices and disrupting global supply chains. The US has also accused Iran of laying mines in the Strait.
Crosetto said that the pre-condition for any deployment would be not the ceasefire currently in place “but a real, credible and stable truce or, even better, a definitive peace”.
He said it would take weeks for the minesweepers to reach the region and Italy was therefore “pre-positioning” them, initially to the eastern Mediterranean and then the Red Sea. “Solely as a precaution… we are arranging for two minehunter units to be positioned relatively closer to the Strait,” Crosetto said.
Britain and France have led talks on a potential naval effort in the region to assist global shipping. Both countries have said they are “pre-positioning” warships nearby.
Negotiations between the United States and Iran to end the Middle East war and re-open the crucial waterway appear to have stalled. AFP
