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Friday, January 6, 2012

US, British officials plan Iran strategies


On a day British Defence Secretary Phillip Hammond warned Iran over a threat to disrupt an oil trade route, he met with his U.S. counterpart at the Pentagon. Hammond was welcomed by U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta with a ceremonial honor cordon as he arrived at the U.S. Department of Defense headquarters. Earlier on Thursday (January 5), Britain signaled its readiness to use military force if necessary to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, warning Iran not to miscalculate over the West s determination to prevent disruption to the key shipping route. Iran threatened last week to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz if foreign sanctions were imposed on its crude exports over its nuclear ambitions, a move that could trigger military conflict with economies dependent on Gulf oil. Fears of supply disruptions due to rising tensions between the West and Iran have sent oil prices higher. Britain s Royal Navy participates in the Combined Maritime Forces, a U.S.-led, Bahrain-based naval flotilla drawn from 25 nations whose missions include counter-piracy, counter-terrorism and security in the Gulf. The Strait of Hormuz was one of the world s great commercial arteries and its closure would have very significant consequences for the economies of the world, Hammond said.