Iran claims a new maritime alliance is being formed in the region, which will include Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Russia, and China
The presumed alliance is a response to the US MARITIME Act to create a maritime alliance in the Middle East which includes Israel.
Iran said a new maritime alliance is being formed in the region, which will include Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, Russia, China, Oman, Pakistan, India and other countries in the region.
Few days ago, the UAE announced its withdrawal from participating in the US-led Combined Maritime Forces, a multinational maritime partnership to counter Iran and its affiliated non-state actors. In March, China, Russia and Iran held joint naval drills in Gulf of Oman. In April, The U.S. confiscated another Iranian oil tanker. Days later Iran seized another oil tanker in retaliation. Hence, security in the gulf has been experiencing an evolution.
The new alliance is clearly targeted at the protection of maritime energy shipping routes. Furthermore, it aims to provide security for the shipping of other commodities and goods. The presumed alliance is a response to a bill introduced in the US Congress in April 2023 called the Maritime Architecture and Response to International Terrorism in the Middle East (MARITIME) Act, which seeks to build on the Abraham Accords, to create a maritime alliance in the Middle East which includes Israel. The MARITIME Act complements the DEFEND Act passed in 2022 which was adopted to create a regional air- and missile-defense alliance aimed at countering Iran.
If it materialises, the new maritime alliance will be a counter-force to a US-led one. It will represent another layer in the tension between Washington and its regional allies. The alliance will also be another setback for Israel and the US-led Abraham Accords. Internationally, Russia is particularly interested in this alliance to protect its energy shipping fleets from the threat of US seizure of its tankers. For China, the new alliance will complement its regional peace approach which seeks to build regional economic peace. The alliance formation will create a new security architecture in the gulf and may lead to some tensions.