VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Tensions between the United States and Iran have not subsided. After imposing sanctions which also led to Iran's supreme leader, the United States is  planning  to mobilize other countries' support to put the military in waters near Iran. Chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Joseph Dunford, stated Washington took the initiative to mobilize an international military coalition in the Strait of Hormuz and Bab El Mandab waters. These two areas are very important for ship traffic, especially tankers transporting  oil. The initiative of the US military to place an international coalition there  is said  to guarantee security and freedom of shipping. The idea of forming an international coalition came after a statement from Tehran that threatened to close the waters of Bab el Mandab. The threat was raised in reaction to US sanctions that prohibit the trading and shipping of Iranian oil. If the Iranian blockade is carried out, the trade traffic of around four million barrels of oil throughout the world through Bal El Mandab will be disrupted. The United States' invitation to secure the Strait of Hormuz and Bab El Mandab to this day, Friday, July 12 has not received any response. However,  Iran's threat to block El Bab Mandab can generate a broad  and different reaction, especially in countries with an interest in oil trading. Although not related to the Bab El Mandab closing  threat  or the initiative to mobilize an international military coalition, on Monday, July 8, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said the unilateral intimidation by the United States had caused a violation of Iran's nuclear agreement. The statement from the Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman seemed to imply that Beijing's attitude towards Tehran was still soft. The same attitude is also shown by France. Emmanuel Bonne, adviser to the French President at a meeting with Secretary of the Iranian National High Security Council Ali Shamkhani, in Tehran Wednesday July 10 implies France's attitude towards Iran. As the Iranian news agency Irna reported, Emmanuel Bonne stated that Paris wanted dialogue and cooperation with Tehran to manage the crisis in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon. Seeing China and France’s attitudes, the United States might need to work hard to realize the idea of forming an international military coalition to protect the Strait of Hormuz and Bab El Mandab.