US pushing for new coalition to restart Hormuz traffic

The United States is pushing for a new international coalition to restart commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz as talks with Tehran stall, according to US news outlets.

The State Department sent an internal cable to US embassies calling on diplomats to convince governments around the world to join the "Maritime Freedom Construct," a US-led bloc to share information, coordinate diplomatically, and enforce sanctions, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday.

Iran has sought to extract a price for being attacked by exerting control over the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway through which one-fifth of global oil typically transits.
As oil prices remain elevated for weeks, Trump has called on allies to unblock the strait, saying last month that "this should have always been a team effort."

The coalition will see the State Department serving as a "diplomatic operations hub" and the US Central Command providing "real-time maritime domain awareness," the Journal reported, citing the cable sent on Tuesday.

"Your participation will strengthen our collective ability to restore freedom of navigation and protect the global economy," the cable reportedly said.

"Collective action is essential to demonstrate unified resolve and impose meaningful costs on Iranian obstruction of transit through the Strait."

A senior Trump administration official confirmed to the Journal that the idea was one of the many diplomatic and policy resources at the president's disposal.

Trump has repeatedly lashed out at NATO allies over their response to his war with Iran and suggested he could quit the 77-year-old military alliance.

Efforts to end the war have stalled, with the Iranian side reportedly proposing this week to ease its chokehold on the strait in exchange for Washington lifting its retaliatory blockade while broader negotiations continue.

Agence France-Presse