WAR US military may put armed troops on commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz to stop Iran seizures | AP News

[jward]

US military may put armed troops on commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz to stop Iran seizures | AP News​

LOLITA C. BALDOR, JON GAMBRELL​

---

Updated 12:11 PM CDT, August 3, 2023
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The U.S. military is considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, in what would be an unheard of action aimed at stopping Iran from seizing and harassing civilian vessels, four American officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Since 2019, Iran has seized a series of ships in the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, as part of its efforts to pressure the West over negotiations regarding its collapsed nuclear deal with world powers. Putting U.S. troops on commercial ships could further deter Iran from seizing vessels — or escalate tensions further.
The contemplated move also would represent an extraordinary commitment in the Mideast by U.S. forces as the Pentagon tries to focus on Russia and China. America didn’t even take the step during the so-called “Tanker War,” which culminated with the U.S. Navy and Iran fighting a one-day naval battle in 1988 that was the Navy’s largest since World War II.

While officials offered few details of the plan, it comes as thousands of Marines and sailors on both the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan and the USS Carter Hall, a landing ship, are on their way to the Persian Gulf. Those Marines and sailors could provide the backbone for any armed guard mission in the strait, through which 20% of all the world’s crude oil passes.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the AP about the U.S. proposal.
Four U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the proposal, acknowledged its broad details. The officials stressed no final decision had been made and that discussions continue between U.S. military officials and America’s Gulf Arab allies in the region.
Officials said the Marines and Navy sailors would provide the security only at the request of the ships involved.
Earlier Thursday, Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the head of the Navy’s Mideast-based 5th Fleet, met with the head of the Gulf Cooperation Council. The six-nation bloc includes Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

While a statement from the GCC about the meeting did not hint at the proposal, it did say that Cooper and officials discussed “strengthening GCC-U.S. cooperation and working with international and regional partners.”
The Bataan and Carter Hall left Norfolk, Virginia, on July 10 on a mission the Pentagon described as being “in response to recent attempts by Iran to threaten the free flow of commerce in the Strait of Hormuz and its surrounding waters.” The Bataan passed through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea last week on its way to the Mideast.
Already, the U.S. has sent A-10 Thunderbolt II warplanes, F-16 and F-35 fighters, as well as the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, to the region over Iran’s actions at sea.
The deployment has captured Iran’s attention, with its chief diplomat telling neighboring nations that the region doesn’t need “foreigners” providing security. On Wednesday, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard launched a surprise military drill on disputed islands in the Persian Gulf, with swarms of small fast boats, paratroopers and missile units taking part.
The renewed hostilities come as Iran now enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels after the collapse of its 2015 nuclear deal. International inspectors also believe it has enough enriched uranium for “several” nuclear bombs if it chose to build them. Iran maintains its program is for peaceful purposes, and U.S. intelligence agencies assess Tehran is not pursuing an atomic bomb.

The U.S. also has pursued ships across the world believed to be carrying sanctioned Iranian oil. Oil industry worries over another seizure by Iran likely has left a ship allegedly carrying Iranian oil stranded off Texas as no company has yet to unload it.

___​

Baldor reported from Washington.

US military may put armed troops on commercial ships in Strait of Hormuz to stop Iran seizures

The U.S. military is considering putting armed personnel on commercial ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, in what would be an unheard of action aimed at stopping Iran from seizing and harassing civilian vessels.

apnews.com

 

[jward]

INTL - US Rushes F-22s to Stop Russian Harassment Over Syria

US Rushes F-22s to Stop Russian Harassment Over Syria Audrey Decker As Russian planes continue to provoke U.S. fighter jets over Syria, the Air Force is sending F-22s to respond to aggression in the region. Russia continues to “pressure our presence,” despite the...

www.timebomb2000.com

 

[Dozdoats]

A point-target Phalanx would do it.

MK 15 - Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS)

MK 15 Phalanx CIWS provides ships of the U.S. Navy with an inner layer point defense capability against anti-ship missiles (ASM), aircraft and littoral warfare threats that have penetrated other fleet

www.navy.mil

 

[night driver]

Not really a shock...

 

[night driver]

A point-target Phalanx would do it.

MK 15 - Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS)

MK 15 Phalanx CIWS provides ships of the U.S. Navy with an inner layer point defense capability against anti-ship missiles (ASM), aircraft and littoral warfare threats that have penetrated other fleet

www.navy.mil

And I BELIEVE they have some of those bad boyz as RO-RO type installations.

 

[ShadowMan]

We need to bring back Commerce Raiders like they had during WWII. Looks like a common cargo ship....until you get too close then all hell breaks loose:

Naval guns, machine guns and torpedoes!!

 

[jward]

Iran boosts navy with missiles, drones as US offers guards for Gulf ships​

Reuters
August 5, 2023
3:44 PM CDT
Updated a day ago





DUBAI, Aug 5 (Reuters) - Iran has equipped its Revolutionary Guards' navy with drones and 1,000-km (600-mile) range missiles, Iranian news agencies reported on Saturday, as the U.S. offers to put guards on commercial ships going through the Gulf's Strait of Hormuz.
Referring to the possible presence of U.S. guards, Iranian armed forces spokesperson Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi said the region's countries were "capable of ensuring Persian Gulf security" themselves.

"What do the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean have to do with America? What is your business being here?" Shekarchi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
State news agency IRNA said the Revolutionary Guards' weapons include "various types of drones ... and several hundred cruise and ballistic missiles with a range of 300 to 1,000 km are among the systems and equipment that were added to the capabilities of the Guards' navy today."

Fast-attack crafts from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy swarming Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi as it transits the Strait of Hormuz from Dubai to port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, Arabian Gulf early hours of May 3, 2023, are seen in this screenshot of a video shot provided by U.S. Navy on May 3, 2023. U.S. Naval... Read more
Earlier this week, Washington said it could soon offer to put armed sailors and Marines on commercial ships in the region following Iran's seizure and harassment of vessels.
Last month, it said it would send additional F-35 and F-16 fighter jets, along with a warship to the Middle East, to monitor waterways. About a fifth of the world's crude oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman.

Tehran usually says detained vessels have committed shipping violations. Some have been released only after foreign countries have freed detained Iranian ships.
Revolutionary Guards' Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri told state TV on Saturday that the new missiles had better precision as well as longer range.
"The cruise missiles can attack several targets simultaneously and the commands can be altered after take-off," Tangsiri said.
Reporting by Dubai Newsroom Editing by Andrew Cawthorne and Helen Popper
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Iran boosts navy with missiles, drones as US offers guards for Gulf ships

Iran has equipped its Revolutionary Guards' navy with drones and 1,000-km (600-mile) range missiles, Iranian news agencies reported on Saturday, as the U.S. offers to put guards on commercial ships going through the Gulf's Strait of Hormuz.

www.reuters.com

 

[Scrapman]

Us offers gaurds with ar 15

 

[Redleg]

They can't meet recruitment goals now, so where are they getting the bodies to man these ships?
Sorry, I call BS

 

[Profit of Doom]

Iran maintains its program is for peaceful purposes, and U.S. intelligence agencies assess Tehran is not pursuing an atomic bomb.

Peaceful, power generating enrichment is probably far more productive at lower purities.

 

[Profit of Doom]

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Ready for a laugh?

 

[bw]

Lead with our chin. A few token deaths is great if you're trying to whip up a war.

 

[jward]

With Marines on Persian Gulf vessels, is Biden risking war with Iran? - Responsible Statecraft​

Trita Parsi

---

The Washington Post reports that Biden is embarking on a “remarkable escalation” in the Persian Gulf that could lead to a U.S.-Iran war. He is reportedly preparing to authorize U.S. Marines and sailors to be stationed on interested commercial vessels in an effort to thwart Iran from seizing oil tankers in the region.
Biden is primarily responsible for having created this situation due to two policy paths he has chosen.
First, he chose to negotiate America’s return to the JCPOA rather than reentering it via executive order while also disregarding many of the key factors that made Obama’s diplomacy with Iran successful.
Iran has undoubtedly created its fair share of problems in the talks. But by choosing a negotiated return, Biden also chose to keep Trump’s sanctions in place — even though key Biden officials are on record blasting Trump’s max pressure strategy as a dismal failure.

But today, Trump’s maximum pressure strategy is Biden’s. One element of it has been to confiscate Iranian oil on the high seas — in contradiction to international law — as a way to enforce US sanctions on Iran. Predictably, Iran responded by targeting oil shipments of countries that collaborated with Biden on this matter. This has then prompted Biden to beef up U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf to prevent Iranian actions that only began as a result of Biden’s own policies.
But now Biden may “remarkably escalate” this counterproductive policy by putting U.S. military directly into the mix. This is partly due to the second policy he has erroneous prioritized: the Abraham Accords and getting Saudi to normalize with Israel.

Saudi Arabia has requested a security pact with the U.S. in order to agree to normalize with Israel and abandon the Palestinians. Biden may wisely not go for that, but as part of wooing the Saudis, he believes he has to show that he’s willing to commit to war in the Middle East — a commitment few in the region believe the U.S. has.
Stationing U.S. Marines on oil tankers may be designed to signal to Mohammed Bin Salman that Biden is serious about defending Saudi Arabia against Iran and that the (very brief) era of the U.S. withdrawing from the Middle East is over.
It is impressive how MBS has played Biden. He is successfully pushing the U.S. president to reverse the many policies Saudi Arabia opposed — rejoining the JCPOA, reducing U.S.-Iran tensions, and bringing American troops home from the Middle East.

In return, Israel gets normalization while it continues to annex Palestinian land. And America gets to once again enjoy the short straw of having to live on the verge of war with Iran.

With Marines on Persian Gulf vessels, is Biden risking war with Iran?

Biden is charting a dangerous path in signaling to Saudi Arabia that Washington has its back in return for Israel normalization.

responsiblestatecraft.org

Lead with our chin. A few token deaths is great if you're trying to whip up a war.

 

[Lone_Hawk]

The shipping companies will refuse the troops because if troops are on the ship the insurance companies will drop their insurance.

 

[jward]

More than 3,000 US troops reach Red Sea amid Iran tensions​

Miranda Nazzaro​

---

U.S. Navy via AP
This still image from video released by the U.S. Navy shows the Panama-flagged oil tanker Niovi surrounded by Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday, May 3, 2023.


More than 3,000 U.S. sailors and Marines reached the Red Sea on Sunday aboard the assault ship USS Bataan in response to Iran’s “harassment and seizures of merchant vessels,” according to the U.S. Naval Central Forces Central Command.
“These units add significant operational flexibility and capability as we work alongside international partners to deter destabilizing activity and deescalate regional tensions caused by Iran’s harassment and seizures of merchant vessels earlier this year,” the U.S. Fifth Fleet spokesman Cmdr. Tim Hawkins said in a statement shared with The Hill.

The arrival is part of a preannounced military deployment, the U.S. Naval Central Forces Command said. Hawkins said it signals the country’s “strong, unwavering commitment to regional maritime security.”
The assault ship arrived Sunday after traveling from the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal. The U.S. Naval Central Forces Central Command said the USS Bataan and dock landing ship USS Carter Hall bring “additional aviation and naval assets, as well as more U.S. Marines and Sailors, providing greater flexibility and maritime capability to the U.S. 5th Fleet.”

The U.S. Naval Central Forces Central Command also said the assault ship can carry more than two dozen rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft and “several ambitious landing craft.” The dock landing ship will be used in operations for multiple rotary-wing aircraft, tactical vehicles and amphibious landing craft.
Since 2019, Iran has seized several ships in the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf in an attempt to pressure the West over negotiations over its collapsed nuclear deal with world powers. Tensions have continued to rise since the Trump administration withdrew from Iran’s 2015 nuclear agreement and reinstated sanctions, according to The Associated Press.
The Associated Press contributed.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

More than 3,000 US troops reach Red Sea amid Iran tensions

More than 3,000 U.S. sailors and Marines reached the Red Sea on Sunday aboard the assault ship USS Bataan in response to Iran’s “harassment and seizures of merchant vessels,” according …

thehill.com

 

[smokin]

What could go wrong?

 

[night driver]

Over the past 10 years, a fair number of PMCs have worked up Maritime Guard forces.

Dunno if they're doing this again but it WOULD make some sense. Though I'd rather see a couple of Ro-RO CIWIS systems used.

(RO RO CIWIS see above a few posts)
PMC -- Private Military Companies.

 

[Illini Warrior]

just trigger troops - Biden needs a war and will try just about anything to fire one up >>>

they will be lucky to get anything more than a sidearm - absolutely nooooooooo way in hell anything really defensive with any range .....

 

[vector7]

What could go wrong?

If you have 10% for the Big Guy you can have your commercial ship protected by United States marines! War is money and Biden only has one going right now

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1688661484321079296

View: https://twitter.com/kung_fu_jedi/status/1688661484321079296?s=20

U.S. moves to put Marines on commercial ships to stop Iranian seizures​

The plan, if approved, would represent a remarkable escalation in the long-running feud between Washington and Tehran that could put their militaries in direct confrontation

By Dan Lamothe and Missy Ryan

Updated August 3, 2023 at 5:39 p.m. EDT|Published August 3, 2023 at 3:01 p.m. EDT

The U.S. military is readying plans to embark armed Marines and sailors aboard the commercial ships of interested private companies after a spate of vessel seizures by Iranian forces in the Middle East, officials said Thursday, a remarkable escalation that could put Washington and Tehran in direct confrontation.

The effort has not yet received final approval, but it has buy-in from senior Biden administration officials and could commence as soon as this month, said one official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military planning. Marines from Camp Lejeune, N.C., have been flown to Bahrain and received related training, with additional personnel due to arrive soon aboard American warships.

“We have a cohort on the ground,” the official said. He added that the “policy decision has pretty much been made.”
A second U.S. official acknowledged the proposal is under discussion at the Pentagon but emphasized that it has not yet been approved.

Asked about the plan, a Pentagon spokesman, Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, said Thursday he had no announcements to make.

U.S. Navy says it foiled Iran’s attempt to seize oil tankers

A spokesman at the White House, John Kirby, directed questions to the Defense Department while noting the Strait of Hormuz, where some of the incidents have occurred, is a “vital seaway.” The United States, he said, has seen threats by Iran to close off this “choke point.” The strait connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman, and the open ocean beyond. At least 20 percent of the world’s crude oil is moved through the strategic waterway.

The effort, first reported by the Associated Press, is among a set of muscular actions being pursued by the Biden administration following a purported rise in attempts by Iran to seize commercial tanker ships.

The first official cited July 5 as an inflection point in U.S. discussions on the issue. Iranian forces tried to commandeer two civilian tanker ships that day, firing on and striking one of them, the Richmond Voyager, in its hull, Navy officials said at the time. Iranian forces fled after the arrival of the USS McFaul, a naval destroyer.

The U.S. Navy said July 5 that it had prevented Iranian military vessels from seizing two commercial oil tankers off Oman.

In another recent incident, warships from the United States and Britain answered a June 4 distress call from a merchant vessel transiting the Strait of Hormuz, where three Iranian fast-attack boats had harassed the civilian ship, Navy officials said. In that case, the McFaul and the Royal Navy frigate HMS Lancaster responded, with the Lancaster launching a helicopter to drive off the Iranian ships.

In May, the oil tanker Niovi was seized by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps while in the strait, the Navy said. The civilian vessel had departed Dubai and was traveling to the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates when a dozen fast-attack craft surrounded it. In April, Iran made a similar seizure of the oil tanker Advantage Sweet.

Such harassment is part of a pattern dating back years and now requires an “elevated response,” the first official said.
Other recent steps to deter Iran include the deployment of advanced F-35 jets, along with other fighter aircraft and A-10 attack jets, to the Persian Gulf region. The Pentagon also dispatched an additional Navy destroyer to bolster the presence of American military vessels already in the region.

Iranian officials have criticized the deployments, calling them destabilizing and provocative.

The Marines training for the mission in Bahrain are with the 26th Expeditionary Unit, a naval force that typically deploys aboard Navy warships. Other personnel with the unit are aboard the USS Bataan, USS Carter Hall, and USS Mesa Verde, and could arrive in the Middle East soon. The Bataan and Carter Hall arrived recently in Souda Bay, Greece, for a port visit, the unit said in a Facebook post Thursday.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/03/armed-marines-iran-ship-seizures/

 

[vector7]

3,000 American troops have arrived in the Red Sea amid rising tensions with Iran and a divide in the U.S.-Israel relationship under President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. NEWSMAX's Daniel Cohen reports.
RT 2min

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1688960201813110795

View: https://twitter.com/NEWSMAX/status/1688960201813110795?s=20

 

[jward]

someone made the point that in times past, provocations like Iran has put out woulda got them a few "u sunk my ship" moments to encourage them to reconsider... and also suggested this is just Irans' way to get attention and try to get Biden back to the negotions for Jcpoa :: shrug :: think it was Peter Z, and tho it sounds logical, any analysis that doesn't conclude biden is a blooming idiot-toadstool leaves me skeptical.

Ryan Chan 陳家翹
@ryankakiuchan
5h
Replying to
@ryankakiuchan

US Navy destroyer USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Amelia Earhart (T-AKE-6), US Coast Guard fast response cutter USCGC Charles Moulthrope (WPC-1141), and L3 Harris Arabian Fox MAST-13 unmanned surface vessel transit Strait of Hormuz on Aug. 6.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1689271075866058753

View: https://twitter.com/ryankakiuchan/status/1689271075866058753?s=20

 

[jward]

Why is US sending 3,000 Navy, Marines force to Persian Gulf?​

The Pentagon has not yet specified the Marines' role in deterring Iran from interfering with commercial shipping and threatening neighboring Arab states.

WASHINGTON — A contingent of more than 3,000 US Navy personnel and Marines sailed into the Suez Canal on Sunday as the Biden administration weighs options to deter Iran from seizing commercial tanker ships in the Persian Gulf region.
The 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, along with sailors and Marines of an Amphibious Ready Group led by the USS Bataan and accompanied by the dock landing ship USS Carter Hall, will provide “greater flexibility and maritime capability” to the United States' Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, the Navy announced today.

What that means: The Pentagon has remained mum on specifically how it intends to employ the Marines, but their arrival is part of a wider buildup of US forces in the region which defense officials described as a response to Iran’s renewed attempts to seize commercial tankers.
The deployment brings additional aircraft, helicopters and amphibious landing craft to join a dozen US F-35s, as well as F-16 and A-10 aircraft and Navy guided-missile destroyers that have already arrived in the region in recent weeks and months to ramp up joint patrols in and around the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has escalated its attempts to seize commercial ships in Gulf waterways in recent months following the US Justice Department’s confiscation of a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker, the Suez Rajan, carrying Iranian fuel to China in April. An Iranian navy vessel opened fire on a Chevron-chartered tanker in international waters off the coast of Oman last month after the civilian ship refused orders to stop.
Iran’s navy and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have harassed or seized control of at least 20 commercial shipping tankers in the region over the past two years, according to the US 5th Fleet’s numbers.
Iran’s moves have further driven a wedge into the United States’ strategic ties with Gulf states, as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates look to reduce their dependency on Washington for defense.

“It’s drawn Gulf states closer to Iran,” one American official told Al-Monitor last week. “It sends a signal to regional partners that in the absence of US forces, the US is not serious about security.”
Al-Monitor reported last week that senior Defense Department officials have been putting the finishing touches on proposals for wider legal authorities in coordination with the White House to enable the military to intervene more directly to prevent Iran’s seizures of commercial tankers.
Among the military’s requests is authorization to embark the Marines on civilian commercial ships flying foreign flags. The plan, drafted by US Central Command, first requires the consent of regional governments and private companies.
If fully approved by the Biden administration, the broader proposal could leverage the military’s own self-defense authorities to enable US naval and air forces to protect foreign-flagged tanker ships from acts of aggression by Iran, Al-Monitor’s sources said.

Show of force: Regardless of how the Biden administration decides, the announced deployment of an amphibious-borne Marine Expeditionary Group marks an unsubtle warning to Tehran.
“An amphibious assault ship can carry more than two dozen rotary-wing and fixed-wing aircraft, including MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and AV-8B Harrier attack jets in addition to several amphibious landing craft,” the Navy’s 5th Fleet said in a press release on Monday.

“A dock landing ship also supports operations for various rotary-wing aircraft, tactical vehicles and amphibious landing craft,” it read.
Marine Expeditionary Units specialize in amphibious landings and “visit, board, search and seizure” (VBSS) operations — or taking control of vessels, typically in cases of smuggling or piracy — among other tasks.
“The ARG/MEU can be used to protect shipping,” a former senior US special operations official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official was not privy to the Pentagon’s planning, told Al-Monitor.
But its deployment does not suggest Washington intends to escalate or initiate hostilities with Iranian forces in the Gulf region, the official emphasized, adding that ARG/MEU deployments to the Middle East are not uncommon.
The official added that offensive maritime operations such as hostile ship takeovers are better left to top-tier special operations units authorized directly by the president.
“Passive boarding is well within 5th Fleet component capabilities,” the former official added.

Stalled diplomacy: The US buildup in the region comes as an October deadline approaches for the expiration of UN sanctions on Iran from the 2015 nuclear deal.
The outcome of reported backchannel communications between US and Iranian officials over a potential lesser agreement to dilute Tehran’s enriched stockpiles and work toward a general de-escalation in the region remains unclear.
“All of this to me is a dance as both sides are upping the ante ahead of a potential cease-fire,” Ali Vaez, senior director of the Iran project at the International Crisis Group, told Al-Monitor of the military's deployments late last month.

Show of force: Iran’s IRGC held a military exercise on islands disputed with the UAE last week after both Russia and China appeared to side with the Gulf Cooperation Council over Abu Dhabi’s claim to the islands.
Washington has been keen to head off Beijing’s moves to portray itself as a diplomatic mediator and source of security support in the region.
In March, China took credit for brokering an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore diplomatic ties for the first time in seven years.

Flashback: Amid a rise in tensions between Iran and the United States in 1995, then-CENTCOM commander Gen. Binford “Binny” Peay ordered the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit to conduct amphibious landing exercises on the coasts of Oman and the UAE.
The deterrent backfired, leading Iran to fortify the islands in response after the display was perceived by IRGC officials as a rehearsal for a potential invasion.
“The Iran of 2023 is not the Iran of 1983,” the top commander of US forces in the Middle East, Army Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, told House lawmakers in March.
“In fact, Iran today is exponentially more militarily capable than it was even five years ago,” Kurilla said.

Iran fires back: “The US government's military presence in the region has never created security,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani said Monday.
“We are deeply convinced that the countries of the Persian Gulf are capable of ensuring their own security,” Kanani was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying.
Iran’s Defense Ministry late last month claimed to have unveiled the country’s first mass-produced, long-range naval ballistic missile allegedly capable of destroying carriers.
The missile, dubbed the “Abu Mahdi,” was named after Shia militia leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis who was killed in a US drone strike along with IRGC Quds Force commander Qasem Soleimani in January 2020.

What’s next: The ARG/MEU is expected to arrive in Bahrain this week.
The military's proposal to place Marines on commercial tankers has been cleared for diplomatic discussion with regional counterparts, Al-Monitor first reported last week.

Know more: Al-Monitor exclusively reported that the United States moved to confiscate a second tanker carrying Iranian fuel in the days leading up to Iran’s attempt to harass and potentially seize three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman in early July.
But not all of Iran's seizures of tankers in the region are linked to US sanctions enforcement, and many go unreported.
"There’s a level of disorganization and randomness in how they do things," one US official said.

Editor's note: This story has updated since initial publication and edited for clarity.

Related Topics​

Why is US sending 3,000 Navy, Marines force to Persian Gulf?

The Pentagon has not yet specified the Marines' role in deterring Iran from interfering with commercial shipping and threatening neighboring Arab states.

www.al-monitor.com

 

[jward]

Drone Boat Leading Navy Ships In The Strait Of Hormuz A Sign Of Things To Come​

Joseph Trevithick

---

A semi-autonomous drone boat recently helped escort a number of U.S. naval vessels during a recent high-profile transit through the volatile Strait of Hormuz linking the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
The group of ships that were part of the transit included the U.S. Navy's Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Thomas Hudner carrying senior commanders. For years now, the service has been using this particular region as a place to test and evaluate new uncrewed platforms through real-world missions, such as keeping watch on Iranian forces and helping to guard high-value friendly assets.

The Navy released the picture, seen at the top of this story, of the L3Harris Arabian Fox uncrewed surface vessel (USV) out in front of the other ships in the group as they passed westward through the Strait of Hormuz into the Persian Gulf on August 6 earlier today. Beyond USS Thomas Hudner, the Navy's Lewis and Clark class cargo ship USNS Amelia Earhart and the U.S. Coast Guard's Sentinel class cutter USCGC Charles Moulthrope are also seen in the image.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) had announced yesterday that its commander, U.S. Army Gen. Michael Kurilla, as well as Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, had joined the Thomas Hudner as it made the transit. Cooper is head of Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and U.S. Fifth Fleet. This is not the first time Kurilla and Cooper have done something like this. The two officers visited the Ohio class nuclear ballistic missile submarine USS West Virginia somewhere in the Arabian Sea last year, which was a highly unusual disclosure of that boat's presence in the region at all.
CENTCOM commander Army Gen. Kurilla, second from the right, and U.S. Fifth Fleet/Naval Forces Central Command commander Navy Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, second from the left, during their visit to USS West Virginia in 2022. CENTCOM

Very similar to the Maritime Autonomy Surface Testbed 13 (MAST-13) that L3Harris built for the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) in the United Kingdom, Arabian Fox is a 13-foot-long USV reportedly capable of reaching speeds up to 40 knots and having a maximum at-sea endurance of 36 hours. It is equipped with an MX-10MS sensor turret with electro-optical and infrared full-motion video cameras, as well as robust communication and artificial intelligence (AI) enabled control suites.

Arabian Fox can sail semi-autonomously along set routes and features an autonomous collision avoidance capability that allows it to sail safely together in close proximity to other vessels. During the USV's time in the Middle East already, L3Harris has demonstrated the ability to control it using line-of-sight datalinks, via a mesh network made up of various assets.
Arabian Fox has already made multiple transits of the Strait of Hormuz alongside other U.S. naval vessels this year, but the one on August 6 was particularly significant given the presence of Gen. Kurilla and Vice Adm. Cooper.
Arabian Fox, in front, alongside the US Coast Guard's Sentinel class cutter USCGC Clarence Sutphin Jr., in the middle, and the Navy's Arleigh Burke class destroyer USS Paul Hamilton, at rear, during a previous transit of the Strait of Hormuz in May 2023. USN

Helping to provide additional situational awareness as part of a larger group of naval vessels, especially high-value assets like warships carrying top officials, is fully in line with the kinds of mission sets that the Navy has been looking at for smaller USVs. The additional set of 'eyes' that a platform like Arabian Fox can provide is especially relevant in the Strait of Hormuz where the potential threat picture is diverse and there is limited space to maneuver.
Historically, smaller crewed patrol boats, which the Navy has been steadily divesting, have provided this kind of close escort in the Strait of Hormuz, often together with larger warships, and similar waterways elsewhere around the world. Close-in defense is particularly important when it comes to countering swarms of small boats, crewed or uncrewed. When it comes to defending against drone boats in the future, it may well be the case that the best option is the employment friendly ones.

Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) type missions have also been a key focus for the Navy's Task Force 59, to which Arabian Fox is currently assigned. Created in 2021, Task Force 59 has been using strategic waterways around the Middle East as real-world environments to test and evaluate new uncrewed platforms, including aerial drones, USVs, and uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUV), as well as related AI-driven technologies. The unit, which other branches of the U.S. military are now emulating, has also been contributing to real missions, like helping monitor malign Iranian activities. This has already led to direct altercations with Iranian forces, including one incident where they briefly seized a pair of the task force's Saildrone USVs in the Red Sea last year.

"We have said all along that Iran poses the most pressing threat in the region. There have been a number of growing threats, from a maritime perspective, facing commercial vessels that are transiting regional waters, and those threats are well reported," Navy Cdr. Timothy Hawkins, a spokesperson for NAVCENT and Fifth Fleet, told The War Zone in an interview earlier this year. "And Iran has often been behind them. That's a common thread."

"That's why we feel that strengthening our existing partnerships and accelerating innovation are key. And those two things are intertwined," he continued. "And those two things are reflected in our establishment of Task Force 59 and how we have moved out and are integrating these new technologies."
The Strait of Hormuz is a particularly strategic waterway and potentially dangerous chokepoint. Nearly 90 percent of all oil produced in the Persian Gulf, which accounts for around 20 to 30 percent of all global oil exports, exits the region via the Strait. Iran, which controls one side of the Strait, routinely threatens to blockade it in retaliation for actions taken by the United States and others.

Just in the past month or so, the U.S. military has significantly reinforced its presence in this part of the world, including with the deployment of the USS Thomas Hudner and F-35 and F-16 fighters. This is in response to a string of seizures and attempted seizures of commercial vessels by Iranian forces earlier this year. This includes an incident last month where Iranian personnel opened fire on a commercial tanker off the coast of Oman, but where American naval forces intervened to prevent its capture. No one on the tanker was injured and it suffered no significant damage, according to the Navy.

A Navy Amphibious Ready Group carrying a Marine Expeditionary Unit has now also arrived in the region for a scheduled deployment. There have been reports that the U.S. government is considering making Marines available to guard commercial vessels by deploying aboard them.
Task Force 59's work has impacts beyond the Middle East. The unit's work is helping the Navy to explore and refine its still-evolving concepts of operations for integrating more robust USVs and UUVs into routine operations, as well as just gain relevant real-world experience in this regard.

The Navy, as well as the Marine Corps, have a stated interest in fielding larger numbers of increasingly diverse USVs and UUVs that can take on a wide array of missions beyond ISR, including electronic warfare and stand-off strike, and do so at relatively low cost. These platforms also have the benefit of being able to operate well forward of crewed vessels, helping to keep the latter further away from known and unknown threats.

The Navy has already test-fired a multi-purpose SM-6 missile, which can be employed against aerial and surface threats, from a containerized launch system mounted on a larger USV. The Marines are also working to acquire a fleet of Long Range Unmanned Surface Vessels (LRUSV) that can perform ISR missions and be armed with loitering munitions for launching precision strikes on targets at sea or ashore.

At the same time, significant questions remain about exactly how the Navy, especially, will proceed with its uncrewed plans. The service has gotten pushback from Congress in recent years over concerns it has not fully fleshed outs how it expects to use various tiers of USVs and UUVs.
Still, USVs like Arabian Fox helping to escort larger groups of U.S. Navy ships look set to be an increasingly common sight, especially in congested and potentially dangerous waterways like the Strait of Hormuz.

Drone Boat Leading Navy Ships In The Strait Of Hormuz A Sign Of Things To Come

Top US commanders recently passed through the Strait of Hormuz in part under the watchful eye of a small uncrewed surface vessel.

www.thedrive.com

 

[vector7]

Good Lord
$6B for 4 people
Every dirtbag regime in the world just said to themselves
We should grab some Americans before
Biden sends all their $$$ to UKR & Iran

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1689697310903582720

View: https://twitter.com/JimHansonDC/status/1689697310903582720?s=20

 

[jward]

Shippers warned to avoid Iranian waters over seizure threat as US-Iran tensions high - Region - World​

---

In this photo released by the U.S. Navy, the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, front, and the landing ship USS Carter Hall, back travel through the Red Sea, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. AP

Related​

A similar warning went out to shippers earlier this year ahead of Iran seizing two tankers traveling near the strait, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 percent of the world’s oil passes.
While Iran and the U.S. now near an apparent deal that would see billions of Iranian assets held in South Korea unfrozen in exchange for the release of five Iranian-Americans detained in Tehran, the warning shows that the tensions remain high at sea. Already, the U.S. is exploring plans to put armed troops on commercial ships in the strait to deter Iran amid a buildup of troops, ships and aircraft in the region.
U.S. Navy Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins, a spokesman for the Mideast-based 5th Fleet, acknowledged the warning had been given, but declined to discuss specifics about it.

A U.S.-backed maritime group called the International Maritime Security Construct “is notifying regional mariners of appropriate precautions to minimize the risk of seizure based on current regional tensions, which we seek to de-escalate,” Hawkins said. “Vessels are being advised to transit as far away from Iranian territorial waters as possible.”
Separately, a European Union-led maritime organization watching shipping in the strait has “warned of a possibility of an attack on a merchant vessel of unknown flag in the Strait of Hormuz in the next 12 to 72 hours,” said private intelligence firm Ambrey.
“Previously, after a similar warning was issued, a merchant vessel was seized by Iranian authorities under a false pretext,” the firm warned.
The EU-led mission, called the European Maritime Awareness in the Strait of Hormuz, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran through its state media did not acknowledge any new plans to interdict vessels in the strait. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Strait of Hormuz is in the territorial waters of Iran and Oman, which at its narrowest point is just 33 kilometers (21 miles) wide. The width of the shipping lane in either direction is only 3 kilometers (2 miles). Anything affecting it ripples through global energy markets, potentially raising the price of crude oil. That then trickles down to consumers through what they pay for gasoline and other oil products.
There has been a wave of attacks on ships attributed to Iran since 2019, following the Trump administration unilaterally withdrawing America from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and re-imposing crushing sanctions on Tehran.
Those assaults resumed in late April, when Iran seized a ship carrying oil for Chevron Corp. and another tanker called the Niovi in May.

The taking of the two tankers in under a week comes as the Marshall Island-flagged Suez Rajan sits off Houston, likely waiting to offload sanctioned Iranian oil apparently seized by the U.S.
Those seizures led the U.S. military to launch a major deployment in the region, including thousands of Marines and sailors on both the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan and the USS Carter Hall, a landing ship. Images released by the Navy showed the Bataan and Carter Hall in the Red Sea on Tuesday.
Short link:

Shippers warned to avoid Iranian waters over seizure threat as US-Iran tensions high - Region - World

Western-backed maritime forces in the Middle East on Saturday warned shippers traveling through the strategic Strait of Hormuz to stay as far away from Iranian territorial waters as possible to avoid being seized, a stark advisory amid heightened tensions between Iran and the U.S.

english.ahram.org.eg