US Beefs Up Gulf Deployment Over Iran Oil Tanker Threat

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

50% : Washington's Gulf allies -- reliant on the shipping lane to deliver their oil to global markets -- have long demanded stronger US security commitments, especially after an uptick in seizures by Iran since 2019.
49% : In April and early May, Iran seized two tankers within a week in regional waters.
42% : The US military says Iran has either seized or attempted to take nearly 20 internationally flagged ships in the region in the past two years.
40% : The delicate agreement would see Iran free five American prisoners in exchange for the unblocking of Iranian funds frozen in South Korea under US sanctions.
39% : It followed exhaustive diplomacy between the Biden administration and longtime US adversaries Iran.
35% : "There is a heightened threat, a heightened risk to regional mariners in terms of seizures" by Iran in the strait, said Commander Tim Hawkins, spokesman for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.
35% : Despite the prisoner deal earlier this month, separate attempts to revive a landmark 2015 nuclear pact with Tehran have effectively collapsed.
34% : Most recently, Washington said its forces blocked two attempts by Iran to seize commercial tankers in international waters off Oman on July 5.
30% : "With no sign of a diplomatic agreement between the US and Iran, the only alternative is more effective deterrence," said Torbjorn Soltvedt of the risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft.
26% : With Biden's increased emphasis on Asia adding to their frustrations, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have boosted engagement with American rivals China and Iran.

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