The US\\\\\\\' chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine General Joseph Dunford

The United States hopes to attract allies in a military coalition to have a stronger effect over strategic waters off Iran and Yemen.

Iran PressAmerica: The US' chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine General Joseph Dunford, talked about the plan which has only been finalized in recent days, saying that the United States would provide command ships and lead surveillance efforts for the military coalition.

Allies would patrol waters near those US command ships and escort commercial vessels with their nation’s flags, Reuters reported.

General Dunford, articulated those details to reporters following meetings on Tuesday about it with acting US Defense Secretary Mark Esper and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

He mentioned the waters in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab as the area of future cooperation.

“I think probably over the next couple of weeks we’ll identify which nations have the political will to support that initiative and then we’ll work directly with the militaries to identify the specific capabilities that’ll support that,” the General added. 

Dunford said the United States would provide “command and control” ships but said the goal would be for other countries to provide vessels to patrol waters between those command ships.

Iran has emphasized that the presence of non-regional military forces in the Persian Gulf is totally unnecessary and causes insecurity in the region. 101/214

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