U.S. sees European maritime security effort in Gulf as 'complementary'

FILE PHOTO: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford arrives to testify before a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing on the proposed FY2020 budget for the Defense Department on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 8, 2019. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

KABUL/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States believes a proposed European initiative to bolster maritime security in the Gulf would complement ongoing U.S. efforts there instead of being a "stand-alone" operation, the top U.S. general said on Wednesday.

Washington in June first proposed some sort of multinational effort open to all allies and partners to bolster maritime security in the Gulf after accusing Iran of attacking oil tankers around the Strait of Hormuz, a critical maritime chokepoint between Iran and Oman.