WASHINGTON: Qatar and Kuwait have told the US that they will join a US-led naval coalition in the Gulf which was established in response to a series of attacks on oil tankers, a US military official said on Monday.
The coalition, based out of Bahrain and known as the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC), was formed after a series of attacks earlier this year heightened the risk of disruption to Gulf oil exports shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.
The US has blamed the attacks on Iran, which Tehran denied.
"Qatar and Kuwait have already told us they are going to join, so it is just a matter of time," said US Army Colonel John Conklin, chief of staff of the coalition.
Conklin said they were expected to provide personnel and patrol boats.
Albania, Australia, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and the UK have joined.
At the same time, France is spearheading a European-led mission independent of the US-led maritime initiative, which some European countries feared would make US-Iranian tensions worse.
"To my knowledge, nobody has joined (the French) coalition yet and they've been trying for a while but they haven't been very successful," Conklin said.
Kuwait, Qatar to join US-led maritime coalition, says US military official
Kuwait, Qatar to join US-led maritime coalition, says US military official
- The coalition, based out of Bahrain, is known as the International Maritime Security Construct (IMSC)
