London - Britain plans to send two warships to protect vessels
in the Strait of Hormuz, amid tension with Iran, Defence Minister Ben
Wallace said late Saturday.
Wallace said Britain will deploy the HMS Montrose frigate and the HMS
Defender destroyer in the strait, a strategically important shipping
route in the Gulf region.
He urged all sides to "engage to de-escalate the situation," amid
heightened tension following the US airstrike that killed Qassem
Soleimani, the commander of Iran's elite Quds Force.
Wallace said he spoke to US Defence Secretary Mark Esper on Friday,
adding that US forces had been "repeatedly attacked by Iranian-backed
militia" in Iraq in recent months.
"General Soleimani has been at the heart of the use of proxies to
undermine neighbouring sovereign nations and target Iran's enemies,"
he said in a statement.
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/BWallaceMP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BWallaceMPon the accompaniment of UK-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/sjz0ERKP0f
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ)
"Under international law the United States is entitled to defend
itself against those posing an imminent threat to their citizens,"
Wallace said.
The two British warships were deployed in the strait last year after
Iranian forces seized a British-flagged oil tanker.