NATO allies to discuss Hormuz tensions, mission with Gulf Arabs

ANKARA, July 7: NATO foreign ministers will meet Gulf Arab counterparts on Tuesday to address the stalemate over reopening the Strait of Hormuz, including a Franco-British proposal for a multinational maritime mission that Iran has so far dismissed.

The meeting on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Ankara will bring together ministers from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates following weeks of tensions in the strategically important waterway despite an interim U.S.-Iran peace deal.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said early on Tuesday that a tanker was struck east of Oman's Limah. Axios reported earlier that Iran's Revolutionary Guards fired at least two missiles at commercial ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

"In the Gulf region, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates were directly targeted by Iranian attacks this spring," Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot said before the meeting. "Their stability and ours are inextricably linked. This goes far beyond the Strait of Hormuz alone, however crucial it may be for Europe’s energy security," he added.�" REUTERS