US Central Command chief Gen. Kenneth McKenzie said on Thursday it was talking to other countries about freedom of navigation in the Gulf and would work "aggressively" to find a solution to enable free passage. The US general was talking to reporters here at a joint news conference with Gen. Prince Fahd Bin Turki, commander of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen. Asked if Saudi Arabia would have a role in a proposed international maritime security coalition, Prince Fahd said the coalition would continue to escort ships in the Red Sea. "We have been doing that for the past few years and we have achieved great success in spite of some damage to civilian shipping," Prince Fahd said. "So we've been active in this field, we are practicing this at the Red Sea at Bab Al Mandeb." Prince Fahd discussed with McKenzie the Iranian interventions, support for Houthi militia with ballistic missiles, drones and booby-trapped, in addition to the terrorist activities carried out by the Houthi militia, SPA reported. "The Iranian attacks are not only directed at the Kingdom, but are the main objective, but they are even more dangerous to the regional and international interests because they threaten the commercial corridors and airports used by civilians from many countries," Prince Fahd said. The United States has beefed up its military presence in the Middle East over a perceived Iranian threat and is asking allies to help protect strategic waters off Iran and Yemen, following attacks on oil tankers in Gulf waters in recent months. "We are currently talking with the international community about the right to freedom of navigation in the Middle East that will include passage to the Strait of Hormuz and passage to the Bab Al Mandeb," McKenzie said. Mckenzie made his comments before Iranian state TV broadcast a report that Iran had seized a foreign tanker smuggling fuel in the Gulf. "We don't believe war with Iran is inevitable and we don't seek a war with Iran, what we seek is to deter Iran from the destabilizing and malign activities across the region," McKenzie said. Saudi officials took McKenzie on a tour of an exhibit displaying missiles and drones Riyadh says were produced by Iran and used in the Houthi attacks. Tehran denies supplying the group with arms and the Houthis say they manufacture their own. Iran said on Thursday it had seized a foreign tanker smuggling fuel in the Gulf. It was unclear if the impounded ship was the same vessel Iran towed to safety on Sunday after sending a distress signal. Iranian state television had earlier said it was the same ship but the Revolutionary Guards statement did not confirm that. The Guards said the impounded ship was smuggling one million liters of fuel in the area of Larak Island in the Gulf and had 12 foreign crew. Although Iran has yet to name the vessel, shipping industry sources said they believe it to be the MT Riah. Refinitiv data showed that the last signal received from the vessel was on Sunday when it was in the Strait of Hormuz off the Iranian island of Qeshm, heading towards Oman from Larak Island. Washington said it was aware of the report but had no evidence "at this time to suggest Iran's claims are true". — SPA/Agencies
