U.K. Opposes Pre-Emptive Strike on Iran, Will Act If Strait of Hormuz Shut
U.K. Defense Secretary Philip Hammond
Oli Scarff/Getty Images
U.K. Defense Secretary Philip Hammond.
U.K. Defense Secretary Philip Hammond. Photographer: Oli Scarff/Getty Images
The U.K. doesn’t back a pre-emptive strike on Iran over its nuclear program, Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said even as he warned that Britain may take military action if the Islamic republic carries out its threat to block the Strait of Hormuz.
Any attempt by Iran to close the strategically important waterway in retaliation for sanctions against its oil exports would be “illegal and unsuccessful” and the Royal Navy will join any action to keep it open, Hammond said in a speech to the Atlantic Council in Washington today.
“We would not favor a pre-emptive strike. We are very clear that we need to maintain the pressure” on Iran to make it more costly to pursue nuclear weapons, Hammond said in a question-and-answer session after the speech. “Any pre-emptive strike clearly is abandoning the engagement program.”
Iran will block the strait if sanctions are imposed on its crude-oil exports in an attempt to force it to abandon the nuclear program, Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said Dec. 27. Britain and France are pressing the European Union to impose an embargo on Iranian oil imports when foreign ministers meet on Jan. 30, though Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti queried the scope and timing in comments published today.
“Certainly on our side and the U.S. side, great care will be taken that any response to any provocation is very measured and that there isn’t an accidental escalation,” Hammond said. “Of course what we cannot answer for is whether there is a plan on the other side to escalate.”
Oil Prices
The new tensions between Iran and the West have contributed to higher energy prices. Brent oil for February settlement rose as high as $114.64 a barrel, the highest intraday level since Nov. 14, on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange today.
About 15.5 million barrels of oil a day, or a sixth of global consumption, flows through the Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The Royal Navy will continue to play a “substantial” role in the combined maritime force to help maintain freedom of navigation, Hammond said in his speech.
“Our joint naval presence in the Arabian Gulf, something our regional partners very much appreciate, is key to keeping the Straits of Hormuz open for international trade,” Hammond said. “Disruption to the flow of oil through the Straits of Hormuz would threaten regional and global economic growth,” he said, arguing that “it is in all our interests that the arteries of global trade are kept free, open and running.”
F-35 Program
Hammond said he is using his trip to Washington, including a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, to get a clearer picture of the effects of the new U.S. defense strategy on Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
The U.K. has ordered the aircraft carrier-variant of the fighter and Hammond spoke of the apparent absurdity of Britain’s decision, forced by budget constraints, to build new ships without having planes to fly from them initially.
“We are already under some pressure from public opinion in the U.K. over the fact that we’re going to have built and launched carriers some years before we have any aircraft to fly off them. Really, it’s a caricaturist’s dream, isn’t it?” Hammond said. “The prospect of any further delays of the carrier variant would be of concern to us.”
Asked about reports that the revised U.S. strategy might involve cuts in American forces stationed in Europe, Hammond said, “of course, reductions in U.S. troop numbers are not going to be welcomed by European allies in the alliance.”
Budget Pressures
Still, European members of NATO understand budget pressures and the need to address new security challenges such as those in Asia with the rise of China’s military, he said.
“Europe needs to respond in a mature way, not in a histrionic way,” Hammond said. European nations need to work with the U.S. and make the case “for continuing the Atlantic alliance, even while recognizing that some of the new strategic challenges are elsewhere in the world.”
Hammond had used his speech to criticize other European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization for not being willing to commit resources to joint operations, including in Libya and Afghanistan.
“Too many countries are failing to meet their financial responsibilities to NATO, and so failing to maintain appropriate and proportionate capabilities,” he said. “Too many are opting out of operations or contributing but a fraction of what they should be capable of. This is a European problem, not an American one. And it is a political problem, not a military one.”
Hammond reconfirmed previous assessments by British and American defense officials that the debt crisis “should be considered the greatest strategic threat to the future security of our nations.”
“Without strong economies and stable public finances, it is impossible to build and sustain, in the long term, the military capability required to project power and maintain defense,” he said.
To contact the reporters on this story: Viola Gienger in Washington at vgienger@bloomberg.net; Thomas Penny in London at tpenny@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Hertling at jhertling@bloomberg.net
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