LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) — Iran’s seizure and continued detention of a UK-flagged tanker deals Boris Johnson an immediate loyalty test: Britain’s new prime minister may have to choose between Gulf escorts led by Europe or the United States.
Which way Johnson leans could set the tone for a complex agenda that includes withdrawing from the EU, striking a trade deal with the US, and maintaining or breaking European efforts to keep alive the deal curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
Some US commentators see this is a make-or-break moment for Europe’s policy on Iran as a whole.
“Johnson could simply announce that the UK is joining America’s maximum-pressure campaign and calls for a new [Iran nuclear] deal,” the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal wrote. “The rest of Europe would likely have no choice but to join its Anglophone partners — and finally present a united front.”
Gulf mission
The idea of a European-led mission in the Gulf is carried over from a meeting chaired by Johnson’s predecessor Theresa May this week.
Britain has proposed that France, Germany and other European partners join together in a “naval protection mission” to ensure commercial ships can safely navigate in the Gulf. But such an operation would expose Britain’s continued reliance on EU allies at the very same time that Johnson is determined to yank his country out of the bloc on October 31, “no ifs or buts.”
As an alternative, Johnson could instead sign Britain up to a US-led alliance outlined by Donald Trump’s administration at NATO last month.
That decision could boost London’s chances of reviving stalled efforts to strike a post-Brexit trade deal with Washington, but carries the risk that British warships could be caught up in more aggressive US rules of engagement. READ MORE
