The top diplomat questioned the need for naval escorts ‘if no one’s shooting’ when he appeared before Congress.
A proposed mission by the UK and France to secure the Strait of Hormuz once the Iran war ends has been branded a catch-22 by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The top diplomat questioned the need for naval escorts “if no one’s shooting”, but acknowledged it could provide initial reassurance to shipping.
He expected efforts to reopen the critical waterway would dominate this month’s meeting of heads from the G7 group of leading democracies in Evian, France, pending the outcome of talks between Washington and Tehran.
The narrow Gulf channel has become a flashpoint in the conflict, now in its fourth month.
The vital supply route for oil and gas was open to shipping prior to the US and Israel launching strikes against Iran in February.
Iran’s stranglehold on the strait has shocked economies around the world, including the UK’s, and seen a spike in petrol prices.
It has led the US to impose its own blockade resulting in an ongoing stand-off and leaving around 1,500 cargo vessels stranded, amid a fragile ceasefire, which has been shaken by ongoing strikes.
Appearing before the Senate foreign affairs committee, Mr Rubio said the US had not offered to ease sanctions against Iran in exchange for reopening the strait, which he stressed was a key demand as part of any deal.
Washington has argued Europe needed the sea route “much more than we do” and ensuring free transit of vessels was “much more their fight than ours”.
Plans being led by Britain and France to protect shipping in the channel once hostilities end have also fuelled US criticism of allies’ response to the conflict, with Mr Rubio himself previously arguing “it doesn’t make sense”.
The proposed future defensive mission would see the UK deploy autonomous mine-hunting equipment, anti-drone systems and Typhoon jets, alongside the destroyer HMS Dragon.
Speaking in Congress, Mr Rubio said freeing up the strait was set to top the agenda at the upcoming G7 summit.
He said: “Even though it’s not a military forum per se, the UK and France are members of it.
“They’ve put together this initiative, which they say they will send mine sweepers and escort ships, but they will do so once hostilities are ended. Kind of a catch-22.
“On the one hand, I mean, why do you need naval escorts if no one’s shooting at the ships? That said, I don’t diminish the utility of it, because I would imagine the first few ships to go through are going to like to be escorted. So, I think that’s going to be a key feature of that conversation.”
The Foreign Office has been contacted for comment.
