Iran’s
Navy Assembles Near Mouth of Persian Gulf, US ‘Monitoring it
Closely’
Sputnik
,
2
August, 2018
Iran’s
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) appears to be preparing for
a major display of force in the Strait of Hormuz, the only outlet
from the Persian Gulf to the open sea, demonstrating its ability to
shut down the strategically important waterway.
US
Central Command tweeted Wednesday that American forces are closely
watching the developing situation, with the Iranian exercise
expected to begin in the next 48 hours.
"We
are aware of the increase in #Iran naval operations within the
Arabian Gulf, Strait of #Hormuz and Gulf of Oman… We are
monitoring it closely, and will continue to work with our
partners to ensure freedom of navigation and free flow
of commerce in international waterways… We also continue
to advocate for all maritime forces to conform
to international maritime customs, standards and laws,"
said a trio of tweets attributed to CENTCOM spokesperson
Navy Captain Bill Urban.
The
Strait of Hormuz is a vital trade route, with 20 percent
of the world's crude oil passing through the waterway,
which is only 29 nautical miles wide at its narrowest point.
Although
Iran borders the strait, it doesn't totally control it — half
is claimed by Oman. Both countries have asserted the right
for decades to block warships whose use of the
waterway they don't consider to be "innocent passage,"
and Iran annually holds exercises in the strait.
"We are aware of the increase in #Iran naval operations within the Arabian Gulf, Strait of #Hormuz and Gulf of Oman.“ – Navy Capt. Bill Urban, CENTCOM Spokesman @US5thFleet ow.ly/xVjk30le6qN
At
present, the IRGC has assembled over a hundred boats, many
of them fast-moving vessels, near the strait, CNN noted.
Iranian air and ground forces, as well as coastal defense
missile batteries, could also become involved.
US
officials have indicated they see no signs of hostile intent
on the part of the Iranians, but remain on high
alert because of recent hostile rhetoric by the IRGC and
the unusually early timing of the exercise, which is typically
held in January or February.
The
war of words between Iran and the US has gotten very nasty
in recent weeks, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
saying on July 22 that "America should know that peace
with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran
is the mother of all wars." US President Donald Trump
responded later that day with an all-caps tweet, saying that
Iran would "suffer consequences the likes of which few
throughout history have ever suffered before… Be cautious!"
Two
days later, on July 24, Iran respondedy noting, "As
the dominant power in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,
[Iran] has been the guarantor of the security of shipping
and the global economy in this vital waterway and has the
strength to take action against any scheme in this
region," Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General
Mohammad Bagheri said, Reuters reported.
"We are aware of the increase in #Iran naval operations within the Arabian Gulf, Strait of #Hormuz and Gulf of Oman.“ – Navy Capt. Bill Urban, CENTCOM Spokesman @US5thFleet
Then last Friday, July 27, US Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters at the Pentagon, "Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz. They've done that previously in years past. They saw the international community put — dozens of nations of the international community put their naval forces in for exercises to clear the straits. Clearly, this would be an attack on international shipping, and — and it would have, obviously, an international response to reopen the shipping lanes with whatever that took, because of the world's economy depends on that energy, those energy supplies flowing out of there."
Although
Iran has stated its intent to close the waterway if the Trump
administration goes forward with its plan to sanction
countries that buy Iranian oil, the set of economic sanctions
set to go into effect August 6 doesn't include Iran's
petroleum products, only metal exports, automotive sales and debt
financing, Sputnik reported. US sanctions on buyers of Iranian
oil aren't due to begin until November.
©
WIKIPEDIA / PASCAL
Map
of Strait of Hormuz
Iranian
naval activity has steadily increased in recent weeks in the
Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea, both of which border
war-stricken Yemen, where proxies of Iran, Saudi Arabia and
others have engaged in the country's brutal civil war
since 2015.
Saudi
Arabia announced last week that it was halting oil shipments
through the Bab al-Mandeb strait that connects the Red Sea
to the Sea of Oman after Houthi forces from Yemen
attacked two Saudi-owned oil tankers passing through the
waterway.
Saudi
Arabia, Israel, the US and others have long accused Tehran of pulling
the strings of the Houthis, and Israeli officials promised a
military response if Iran shuts down either the Strait of Hormuz
or the Straits of Bab al-Mandeb.
"If
Iran tries to block the Straits of Bab al-Mandeb, it will
find itself facing an international coalition determined to prevent
it from doing so, and this coalition will also include the State
of Israel and all its arms," Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu told an audience of graduating naval officers
August 1, Haaretz reported.
"We also continue to advocate for all maritime forces to conform to international maritime customs, standards and laws." – Navy Capt. Bill Urban, CENTCOM Spokesman @US5thFleet
"I
would like to emphasize: the Israeli military is ready
to respond simultaneously on two fronts, and also on the
Red Sea," Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman said at the
ceremony. "Only in that case, we would be less selective,
and the harm to our enemies would be greater. I hope they take
that into account."
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