US-led Force in Hormuz: A UAE Proposal or a Washington Directive?
The United Arab Emirates has signaled its willingness to participate in a multinational maritime task force aimed at securing the Strait of Hormuz, according to a Financial Times report on Friday, March 27. Citing sources familiar with the discussions, the report states that the UAE has communicated this intention to the United States and other Western allies. This reported initiative involves the
UAE actively promoting a 'Hormuz Security Force' to a wide array of nations, purportedly to safeguard shipping lanes from what it describes as Iranian attacks. Mainstream outlets, like Al-Monitor, frame this strictly as a UAE-led proposition, emphasizing the Gulf state's unique exposure to Iranian actions. This narrative conveniently omits the historical pattern of US influence in such regional
security proposals. For instance, in the immediate aftermath of Operation Earnest Will in 1987, which saw the US escort Kuwaiti oil tankers through the Strait, Washington aggressively pushed for a permanent multilateral naval presence, advocating for a 'NATO-like' security structure in the Persian Gulf. The current UAE-pitched 'Hormuz Security Force' closely mirrors these decades-old American
strategic objectives, acting as a regional echo chamber for US policy. The current push for a 'security force' also sidesteps the core issue of regional tensions. The Strait of Hormuz, through which approximately 20% of the world's oil transits, became a flashpoint not through unprovoked Iranian aggression, but often in response to severe economic sanctions and military provocations. In 2019, the