OREANDA-NEWS. The USA Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in an interview with WFTV 9 channel that Washington is forming an international coalition to patrol the Strait of Hormuz.

According to him, the purpose of patrolling is to keep trade routes open. “There’ll be nations from all around the world that participate in that. These are the deterrent activities,” the politician said.

Pompeo reminded the point of view of the American President Donald Trump, who stated earlier that the United States does not want war with Iran. So, the White House just seeks the change the behaviour of the authorities of Iran. “So the President’s been very clear: We don’t want war with Iran. We simply want them to stop engaging in terror activities around the world. They can’t continue to build out their nuclear weapons program,” Pompeo said.

General Joseph Dunford, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke earlier about the need for a coalition. He told Reuters agency that the United States are negotiating cooperation with different countries and discussing with them the forming of a coalition that would ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el Mandeb. Later, Catherine Wilbarger, the representative of the United States Department of Defense, said that the coalition would be created not for military confrontation with Iran, but for ensuring the safety of transport shipping, primarily by strengthening intelligence and surveillance in the region of Persian Gulf.