Jul 10, 2019 - World

U.S. to launch coalition in Gulf to deter Iran threats, general says

Rebecca Falconer

American military commander and Chariman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford as he appears before the Senate Armed Services Committee during a budget hearing, Washington DC. — Photo: Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Tuesday the United States is moving ahead with plans to build an international military coalition to protect waters around Iran and Yemen, AP reports.

Driving the news: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the plan to deter threats from Iran last month, after the U.S. came to the brink of launching military action against Tehran over the downing an American drone. The U.S. blames Iran for attacks on 2 tankers in the Gulf in June, an issue Dunford plans to address with U.S. allies.

The big picture: Dunford said the U.S. would provide "command and control" ships with the aim of other countries offering boats to establish patrols, according to the BBC. He said the U.S. had spoken with several countries who had the "political will" to support the plan, per the BBC.

Dunford said he'd discussed the matter with Pompeo and "we’re getting ready now to move out," according to AP.

"This will be scalable. So, with a small number of contributors we can have a small mission and we’ll expand that as the number of nations that are willing to participate identify themselves."

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U.S. to launch coalition in Gulf to deter Iran threats, general says

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