US and Iran must compromise to prevent a war
Sky's foreign affairs editor says any moves to retaliate could edge the US and Iran closer to a conflict.
Saturday 20 July 2019 10:02, UK
The United States has just taken another step up the escalation ladder towards conflict with Iran.
The destruction by a US warship of an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday will doubtless be regarded in Tehran as a hostile act even though Washington said the USS Boxer was acting in self-defence.
If the regime chooses to retaliate, we advance another step towards a war that both sides say they do not want.
Britain's position on this is clear.
"We are aware of an incident in the Strait of Hormuz and are monitoring the situation closely," a government spokesman said.
"Escalation in this region is not in anyone's interest."
That is true but unless both sides are willing to de-escalate, the trajectory will more than likely lead to some form of armed confrontation whether by design, by accident or by miscalculation.
Iran's seizure of a foreign tanker at the weekend is not helping to calm the situation.
Neither are its repeated threats to go after a British ship in the Gulf.
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On Thursday morning, the regime also kept flying its drone towards the USS Boxer, an amphibious assault ship, despite repeated warnings to move away - if President Donald Trump's account of what happened is correct.
The unmanned aerial vehicle apparently came within 1,000 yards of the US warship before it was destroyed, reportedly with electronic jamming.
The US is also taking action that could escalate tensions further.
It is building a coalition of navies in the Gulf to escort tankers and other commercial ships through the Strait.
Britain will be involved though it has not yet confirmed this officially.
An increase in foreign military vessels in this part of the world is designed to make it safer for maritime traffic to operate.
However, from the perspective of Iran, it will look more like provocative ramping up of Western military hardware.
This whole drama stems from the Iran nuclear deal, from which Mr Trump withdrew the US last year.
He then re-imposed painful sanctions to try to force Tehran back to the negotiating table.
Some form of dialogue between Washington and the regime is the only way to defuse the crisis.
This will take a willingness by both sides to form a compromise that has so far been lacking.