UK takes charge of coalition Gulf mission to protect ships from Iran

Britain has taken over command from the United States of a maritime security mission in the Gulf to protect global shipping from the threat of attack by Iran.

Royal Navy Commodore James Parkin took charge of the seven-nation coalition on Thursday from US Rear Admiral Alvin Holsey at a ceremony at a US naval base in Bahrain.

He will oversee a team of warships and surveillance aircraft that are patrolling the Gulf, including the Strait of Hormuz, at a time of heightened tensions with Tehran following the killing of Major General Qasem Soleimani, a powerful Iranian officer, in a US drone strike earlier this month.

The death prompted Iran to retaliate, launching a salvo of cruise missiles against two US bases in neighbouring Iraq, taking the two countries to the brink of war.

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