عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

European States Move to Secure Red Sea Navigation, Protect Cyprus

This handout satellite image taken by 2026 Planet Labs PBC shows damage at the military harbor in Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz on March 4, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with the killing of Iran's supreme leader and the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by 2026 Planet Labs PBC / AFP)
This handout satellite image taken by 2026 Planet Labs PBC shows damage at the military harbor in Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz on March 4, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with the killing of Iran's supreme leader and the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by 2026 Planet Labs PBC / AFP)
TT
TT

European States Move to Secure Red Sea Navigation, Protect Cyprus

This handout satellite image taken by 2026 Planet Labs PBC shows damage at the military harbor in Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz on March 4, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with the killing of Iran's supreme leader and the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by 2026 Planet Labs PBC / AFP)
This handout satellite image taken by 2026 Planet Labs PBC shows damage at the military harbor in Iran's southern port of Bandar Abbas along the Strait of Hormuz on March 4, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with the killing of Iran's supreme leader and the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by 2026 Planet Labs PBC / AFP)

European powers said on Thursday they would work together to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea and send naval and other assets to protect Cyprus as the expanding US–Iran war entered its sixth day.

The conflict - which has widened beyond Gulf states to the Mediterranean, where a drone strike hit a British air base on Cypruson Monday, and as far afield as Asia - has convulsed global markets and sent oil and gas prices soaring.

Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands will send naval assets to protect Cyprus in the coming days, Rome's Defense Minister Guido Crosetto told parliament, Reuters reported.

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke with the prime ministers of Italy and Greece on Thursday and "they all agreed to step up cooperation to safeguard shipping in the Red Sea and to coordinate the dispatch of military assets to Cyprus," a senior source said.

The plans ruled out any direct involvement in the war, underlining the delicate balance European governments are seeking to strike over the conflict involving their long-term ally the United States.

"We are not at war and we do not want to enter a war," Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a radio interview on Thursday.

On Cyprus, British Defense Secretary John Healey met his Cypriot counterpart on Thursday to discuss plans to further reinforce air defences.

“The longstanding friendship between the UK and the Republic of Cyprus is strong in the face of Iranian threats,” Healey said on X.

Britain has said it will deploy a destroyer to the region along with additional helicopters equipped with counter-drone capabilities, although HMS Dragon is not expected to arrive until next week.

Britain has not joined the US and Israel in taking offensive action against Iran, though it has taken part in defensive operations including shooting down drones. The government has also given the United States permission to launch limited defensive actions from some British bases.

Western officials believe a drone that hit the Akrotiri base on Cyprus was most likely launched by Iran-backed Hezbollah from Lebanon.

Both Britain and the Cypriot administration have said the island would not be used for attacks on Iran.

SPAIN TO SEND FRIGATE

Spain, which had so far refrained from involving itself in defensive operations, said on Thursday it will send its Christopher Columbus frigate used for air defense to Cyprus.

The ship will assist the Patriot missile interceptor system that Spain deploys in Türkiye.

The Dutch government said on Wednesday it was weighing a request to help secure maritime traffic threatened by the escalating crisis.

Meloni said on Thursday Rome would respond to requests from Gulf nations seeking air defense equipment to counter Iranian air strikes, citing the need to protect Italian citizens and troops in the region.

"These are people we want to, and must, protect," she told radio station RTL 102.5.

Sources told Reuters this week that supplies could include SAMP/T surface-to-air missile batteries, although no final decision has been taken and Rome has not specified which countries would receive the aid.

A French military official said on Thursday that Paris has authorized a temporary presence of US aircraft at certain bases in France, provided they do not take part in operations against Iran.

The agreement did not cover French bases in the Middle East, the official said. "Given the context, France demanded that these assets strictly support the defense of our partners in the region," the official said.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

USS Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier Leaves Middle East

The USS Gerald R. Ford in the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean, Oct. 11, 2023. (Jacob Mattingly/US Department of Defense/AFP)
The USS Gerald R. Ford in the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean, Oct. 11, 2023. (Jacob Mattingly/US Department of Defense/AFP)
TT
TT

USS Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier Leaves Middle East

The USS Gerald R. Ford in the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean, Oct. 11, 2023. (Jacob Mattingly/US Department of Defense/AFP)
The USS Gerald R. Ford in the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean, Oct. 11, 2023. (Jacob Mattingly/US Department of Defense/AFP)

The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier has left the Middle East after taking part in operations against Iran, a US official said Friday, leaving two of the massive American warships in the region.

The Ford is currently in the US European Command area of responsibility, according to the official, who put the number of remaining US Navy ships in the Middle East at 20, including the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carriers.

The Ford has been at sea for more than 10 months -- a deployment that has already seen it take part in US operations in the Caribbean, where Washington's forces have carried out strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats, interdicted sanctioned tankers and seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

A fire broke out in a laundry room aboard the carrier on March 12, injuring two sailors and causing major damage to some 100 beds, according to the US military.

The carrier has also reportedly suffered significant problems with its toilet system while at sea, with US media reporting clogs and long lines for restrooms on the ship.

The United States and Iran are currently in an open-ended ceasefire, but the conflict remains unresolved, with Tehran blocking the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway and Washington's forces blockading Iranian ports.

World

US Treasury Warns Shippers Not to Pay Hormuz Tolls, Even in Form of Charity

An Emirati patrol boat, left, is near a tanker anchored in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from a coastal road near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP)
An Emirati patrol boat, left, is near a tanker anchored in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from a coastal road near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP)
TT
TT

US Treasury Warns Shippers Not to Pay Hormuz Tolls, Even in Form of Charity

An Emirati patrol boat, left, is near a tanker anchored in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from a coastal road near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP)
An Emirati patrol boat, left, is near a tanker anchored in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from a coastal road near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP)

Any shippers paying tolls to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, including charitable donations to organizations such as the Iranian Red Crescent Society, are at risk of punitive sanctions, the US Treasury warned on Friday.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically vital maritime routes, with about 20% of the world’s ‌seaborne crude ‌oil and liquefied natural gas ‌flows passing ⁠through it.

Tehran has ⁠proposed fees or tolls on vessels passing through the Strait, as part of proposals to end the war with Israel and the United States.

The advisory, from Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, said ⁠the US is aware of Iranian ‌threats to ‌shipping and demands for payments to receive safe passage ‌through the Strait.

The warning came as Iran ‌sent its latest proposal for negotiations with the US to Pakistani mediators, a move that could improve prospects for breaking an impasse in ‌efforts to end the Iran war.

OFAC said demands may include several ⁠payment ⁠options, including fiat currency, digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments, such as nominally charitable donations made to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Bonyad Mostazafan, or Iranian embassy accounts.

"OFAC is issuing this alert to warn US and non-US persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage," it said. "These risks exist regardless of payment method."

World

NATO and China: A Slow Alliance Confronts a Fast-Rising Rival

People visit the BYD booth at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on April 30, 2026. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
People visit the BYD booth at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on April 30, 2026. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
TT
TT

NATO and China: A Slow Alliance Confronts a Fast-Rising Rival

People visit the BYD booth at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on April 30, 2026. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
People visit the BYD booth at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on April 30, 2026. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)

NATO was established in 1949 to provide collective defense against the Soviet Union, based on the principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all. At the time, US President Harry Truman also sought to anchor an American presence in war-ravaged Europe to ensure security and prevent a strategic vacuum.

The collapse of the Soviet Union, along with the socialist bloc, brought the Cold War to an end and forced NATO to adapt. The alliance expanded its operations beyond Europe, intervening in the Balkans during the Bosnia and Kosovo wars, then in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. It also undertook maritime missions to combat piracy, including off the Horn of Africa, alongside intelligence-sharing and counterterrorism cooperation.

NATO has since built partnerships with countries beyond its traditional scope and broadened its definition of threats to include cybersecurity, hybrid warfare, and energy security, as well as, more recently, the challenge posed by China.

In sum, NATO has evolved from a purely European defensive alliance into a broader global security actor, largely driven by the United States, while still maintaining a central focus on deterring threats within Europe.

In recent years, the Brussels-based alliance has expanded its attention toward the Indo-Pacific region for strategic reasons that extend beyond Europe. Chief among these are the interconnected nature of global security, particularly in cyberspace, the need to ensure resilient and unobstructed supply chains, and the rapid spread of advanced technologies that increasingly diminish the importance of geographic boundaries.

FILED - 03 April 2025, Belgium, Brussels: A NATO flag flies in the wind in front of the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Photo: Anna Ross/dpa

China’s Rise

Another key factor is the view of China’s rise as a strategic challenge reshaping the global balance of power. For NATO’s 32 member states, up from 12 at its founding, safeguarding trade routes is a priority, especially maritime corridors in the Indo-Pacific that are critical to the global economy.

These include the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia, the world’s most important shipping lane, linking the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea and carrying roughly 25 percent of global trade annually. It is also a vital artery for oil and energy flows to major Asian economies such as China, Japan, and South Korea.

NATO member states express “strategic concern” over China for several core reasons. First, China is rapidly modernizing its military, particularly in areas such as missile systems, space capabilities, and cyber operations, developments that are shifting the global balance of power.

Second, and closely linked, is China’s economic rise, reflected in initiatives such as the Belt and Road, which provide Beijing with avenues to expand its economic and political influence across Asia, Africa, and Europe. This expansion risks creating dependencies among countries in or near NATO’s strategic periphery.

Concerns are also fueled by growing ties between China and Russia, particularly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which could signal coordination between two major powers against the West.

At the same time, an indirect competition is underway over leadership in fields such as artificial intelligence, telecommunications networks, and semiconductors. NATO sees technological superiority as a core component of security.

The alliance has concluded partnership and cooperation agreements with Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, encompassing joint military exercises, intelligence sharing, and political coordination. However, NATO does not appear to be planning an expansion of membership into the Indo-Pacific, instead favoring flexible partnerships over a permanent military presence.