Iranian tanker crisis shows why US not EU are our true friends: Bill Carmichael

If you want to know how reliable our EU “allies” are in a time of crisis, look no further than recent events in the Strait of Hormuz and the shipping lanes between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that are vital to the world’s energy needs.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab with US Vice President Mike Pence.Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab with US Vice President Mike Pence.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab with US Vice President Mike Pence.

Last month, in what our then Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt called an act of “state piracy”, the Iranians seized a British registered tanker, the Stena Impero, in international waters.

This blatantly illegal move is par for the course for the nasty and thuggish Iranian regime, which is a sponsor of terrorism around the globe and which has one of the worst human rights records on the planet.

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Why West must face down Iran's nuclear threats: Bill CarmichaelOnly this week, for example, it emerged that three Iranian women have been jailed for more than 55 years, after being beaten and tortured, for removing their compulsory Islamic headscarves and handing out flowers on the Tehran metro to mark International Women’s Day.

Jeremy Hunt had sought European cooperation to deal with the situation.Jeremy Hunt had sought European cooperation to deal with the situation.
Jeremy Hunt had sought European cooperation to deal with the situation.

Yes, you read that correctly – 55 years in jail for handing out flowers, and yet there is hardly a peep of protest or solidarity from their sisters in the West.

This is also the regime, let us not forget, that hangs gay people from cranes. But you won’t see demonstrations outside the Iranian embassy in London or calls for a boycott of Iranian goods.

The left is very selective in its outrage, and Iran always gets a free pass, no matter how depraved its behaviour, because they share a virulent and frequently unhinged anti-Americanism.

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Back in July, after the tanker seizure by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, it was our real friends, the Americans, with their substantial naval and aerial presence in the region, who immediately offered to help the UK.

But Mr Hunt turned them down and instead announced he was seeking support from the EU for a joint European naval force to protect shipping in the Gulf.

This should have been a straightforward request. The actions of the Iranian regime are clearly in breach of international law and constitute a serious threat to peace in the region.

And after all, France’s Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel of Germany are constantly boasting about how powerful their new EU army is going to be. Surely they would be only too happy to offer a tiny part of this mighty force to ensure stability in a volatile region?

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So how many warships did our EU “allies” send to help the UK in our hour of need? Er – none. No ships, no helicopters, no surveillance aircraft, no personnel, nothing. Not a single sausage.

In a craven act of cowardice the French and Germans seemingly decided that not upsetting the bigoted tyrants that run Iran was more important than upholding international law, supporting free trade or standing by an ally.

So the UK has been forced into a U-turn. This week the new Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, announced the Royal Navy is joining with US forces after all, to protect merchant shipping against threats from Iran. Our EU “allies” are still refusing to contribute anything.

It makes you wonder that if France and Germany are so terrified of Iran, what chance is there that they would stand up to Vladimir Putin and the might of Russia? The answer is they wouldn’t – they would run up the white flag before you could say: “Je me rends!”

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And this is why grandiose visions of a United States of Europe and an EU army constitute a serious threat to peace and prosperity on our continent.

For almost 75 years Nato, and in particular the American nuclear umbrella, has secured peace in Europe. Throughout that time the French and Germans, and most other European countries, have refused to pay their fair share towards Nato’s costs. Instead they expect American and British taxpayers to pick up the bill for their security.

And now with the insistence on developing an EU army – an ineffectual force that is little more than a vanity project for Macron and Merkel – the European Union risks seriously undermining Nato, encouraging Putin’s sabre rattling and threatening the peace and prosperity of our shared continent.

As for the UK, there is an old saying we should take heed of: “It is in times of trouble that you discover who your true friends are.”

The widely differing responses from the EU and the US to the UK’s pleas for help in the Gulf should tell us everything we need to know.

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