Any Security Arrangement in Persian Gulf Should Be Endorsed by Iran: US Academic

“Russia’s call for collective security in the Persian Gulf has been endorsed by China and could be mandated by the UN Security Council if the US was so willing. But the US wants to impose its own unilateral security force on the Gulf composed of itself and its European allies. But, not even the staunchest ally of the US, the UK, has responded positively to the US proposal. Any security arrangement in the Persian Gulf needs to be endorsed by all stakeholders, including Iran, and be administered by the UN,” Dennis Etler, a professor of Anthropology at Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, told Tasnim.

Following is the full text of the interview.

Tasnim: Russia has submitted to the United Nations a proposal that calls for collective security in the Persian Gulf at a time of rising tensions in the strategic region. What do you think about the initiative?

Etler: Russia’s call for collective security in the Persian Gulf has been endorsed by China and could be mandated by the UN Security Council if the US was so willing. But the US wants to impose its own unilateral security force on the Gulf composed of itself and its European allies. But, not even the staunchest ally of the US, the UK, has responded positively to the US proposal. Any security arrangement in the Persian Gulf needs to be endorsed by all stakeholders, including Iran, and be administered by the UN.

Tasnim: It came after former British foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt recently unveiled plans for a European-led naval mission, which he said would be aimed at ensuring safe shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. What is your take on this?

Etler: The British plan, a response to Iran's seizure of a British-flagged oil tanker in the (Persian) Gulf, a move that came after British forces captured an Iranian oil tanker near Gibraltar that the UK claimed was heading for Syria in breach of European Union sanctions, was proposed independently from the US mission, but likewise has garnered no takers. Like the US proposal, it is a unilateral imposition of a Western solution to a global problem precipitated by the US.

Tasnim: Earlier this month, Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Washington was working to form a military coalition to protect commercial shipping off the coast of Iran and Yemen. What is behind this US decision?

Etler: The US wants to maintain its regional hegemony in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Aden. Other regional players, such as Russia and China, will, however, not sit idly by and let the US-run roughshod over the region. Other nations will not enter into a coalition with the US as it will only expose themselves to grave risks that they do not want to shoulder.