Australia pledges to help keep Strait of Hormuz open if deal is reached

Australia will be part of the massive peacekeeping operation to protect the Strait of Hormuz, if and when a deal is reached.

The details will be discussed later this week in London with further military deployment a possibility.

Iran allegedly opened fire on two tankers and blocked access to the oil trade route today, after the US refused to end a blockade on its ports.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said Australia was working with international partners including the UK, France and the US but refused to “speculate” on what help the country would offer.

“Look, there has not been a specific request for any Australian capability. Obviously, we will help,” he told ABC’s Insiders.

“The Strait of Hormuz matters to Australia. It matters that it’s open, and it matters that we see the global fuel supply chain return to normal.”

Maintaining law on international waters will be an international effort and differ from traditional peacekeeping missions.

The opposition is already on board.

“We need to inject ourselves into this dispute and make sure that there’s the safe navigation of those tankers,” former Nationals leader David Littleproud said.

But a truce seems tricky to obtain and what that truce looks like is impossible to predict.

A 49-nation alliance led by Britain and France is preparing a peacekeeping mission.

“This really matters for all countries because this is impacting each and every one of our countries,” UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.

Australia and China are among them but America is not.

Liberal Senator Jonno Duniam said Iran could not be allowed to hold the rest of the world to random.

“If a request is made I would think it is in our interest to support any plan to open the straight of Hormuz.,” he said.

That request will be discussed at a meeting in London this week.

With Australia’s E7 Wedgetail early warning and surveillance aircraft already in the region, extending that deployment to monitor the straits is the most likely outcome

“We have a very significant platform which is currently in the region – which right now is being optimised for the defence of the states of the gulf,” Marles said.

The first opening of the strait saw the price of oil drop suddenly.

The hope is that a permanent opening will eventually see prices drop permanently as well but that is no guarantee.

Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said it was a challenging period.

“If the conflict continues it will be more challenging, that’s way we are working hard with our international partners,” he told Sky News Sunday Agenda.