Joint US, UK, Australian, French naval operation kicks off in Persian Gulf

The British Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, the French MarineNationaleand the US Naval Forces Central Command started a three-day joint navalexercise called Unified Trident on Tuesday.

The multilateral operation takes place in the Persian Gulf, off Bahrain's coastand will simulate conventional and non-conventional warfare operations. The four participant countries are currently also involved in the Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve –fighting against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. France, US and UK are also conducting military operations inLibya.

Thenavalexercisehappens dangerously close to Iran's territorial water and at a moment whenthe country'spolitical relations with the US are plummeting.

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"It’s not a show of force to the Iranians at all,"saidRoyal Navy LieutenantCommanderAnt Wallace,the exercise planner,according to the American newspaper Stars and Stripes, which operates within the USdefenseministry."The reason we are doing this exercise, and I’ll stress this over and over again, is because it’s easier to do it here than it would be anywhere else. It’s a key opportunity to bring ships together, to exercise together and to operate together. The fact that it is in the [Persian] Gulf is coincidental, really.”

Tehrandoes not seem to share the same view andhas promptly stated that it will not tolerate any intrusion in its waters. “Anybody who wishes to stage a war game within the limits of the free waters should follow the international law and we do not allow anybody to get close to our waters and this is our red line,” Iranian Navy Commander Rear AdmiralHabibollahSayyariwas quoted saying by Iran's MEHR news agency.

Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari. (Photo courtesy: Erfan Kouchary) (Others)

Unified Trident kicks off after a series of worrying 'incidents' between the US and the Iranian navy in thePersianGulf.On January 9, a US navy destroyer fired three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels which were approaching at fast speed. A similar episode happened in August 2016.

On January 12, Iran detained 10 US Navy sailors whose boats entered Iranian waters due to mechanical problems. The team wasreleasedunharmed 15 hours later.

If there is tension in the Gulf's water, the situation is not better on the mainland. Iran funds a wide network of Shiite militias fighting in Syria for President Bashar al-Assad who is considered an enemy by the US.

Tens of thousands Shiite militiamen are also fighting in Iraq against the Islamic State under the umbrellaorganisationAlHashdAlShabior PopularMobilisationForces. Some of these groups share strong anti-US feelings and directly receive funds and weapons from Tehran.

The militias are generally perceived as Iran proxy armies that Tehran uses to expand its influence in West Asia, a move that neither the US nor their main ally Israel look atfavourably.

President Donald Trump has often vowed against Obama's nuclear agreement with Tehran. His newly appointed USdefensesecretary James 'Mad Dog'Mattishas always considered Iran a major threat to any possible peace process in West Asia.

"Deterrent is critical" to defend the post-Second World War worldorder, saidMattisto senator McCain during the confirmation hearing. Even if it was planned before Trump's swearing in, operation Unified Trident seems to fall perfectly in line with both the presidency and the USdefensesecretary's views.

(WION)