Timothy Walker

Three boats ran and now all three have been captured. Overnight, U.S. forces conducted a right-of-visit, maritime interdiction and boarding of the Bertha without incident in the INDOPACOM area of responsibility. The vessel was operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean and attempted to evade. From the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, we tracked it and stopped it. No other nation has the global reach, endurance, or will to enforce sanctions at this distance. International waters are not a refuge for sanctioned actors. By land, air, or sea, our forces will find you and deliver justice. The Department of War will deny illicit actors and their proxies freedom of maneuver in the maritime domain.

For those holding their breath for the outcome of Angie's Board of Inquiry: The board members haven't been appointed yet, and neither have the terms of reference been finalised. So, six days after the announcement of a 7-day inquiry, nothing has happened

Iranian warships leave Cape Town. Having completed the maritime Exercise Will for Peace last Friday, Iranian navy corvette Naghdi has only this morning departed Simon's Town harbour. At the same time, forward base ship Makran departed Table Bay Harbour in Cape Town.

A board of inquiry has been established to look into the circumstances around Iran’s participation in the recent naval exercises.

The United States notes with concern and alarm reports that the Minister of Defense and SANDF defied a government order regarding Iran’s participation in the ongoing naval exercises. Iran is a destabilizing actor and state sponsor of terror, and its inclusion in joint exercises – in any capacity – undermines maritime security and regional stability. It is particularly unconscionable that South Africa welcomed Iranian security forces as they were shooting, jailing, and torturing Iranian citizens engaging in peaceful political activity South Africans fought so hard to gain for themselves. South Africa can’t lecture the world on ‘justice’ while cozying up to Iran.