The official spokesman for the State Department refused today to comment on the Egyptian closure of the Straits of Tiran and declined to state the present American view of international maritime rights in that waterway. In response to newsmen’s questions at a press conference, Robert McCloskey said he had no information on whether any instructions have been issued to United States vessels in transit to or from Eilat.
Asked whether the State Department today reaffirmed the pledge of Secretary of State John Foster Dulles in 1957 regarding the international character of the Gulf of Akaba, Mr. McCloskey said he was not prepared to answer that question. When reporters asked if the United States had counselled Israel not to test the Straits blockade, Mr. McCloskey said America has been in touch with all governments concerned in efforts to avert war and he would “leave it at that.”
He declined to discuss whether a reaffirmation of the Tripartite guarantees would be made. “We are deeply concerned about developments,” he said, stressing that America was “urging restraint on all parties.” He said that Tripartite principles remained at the basis of American policy although he could not state whether the Tripartite pact was still alive as a workable instrument.
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