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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Armada of naval power massing in the Gulf as Israel prepares an Iran strike |
| 2012-09-15 |
| Battleships, aircraft carriers, minesweepers and submarines from 25 nations are converging on the strategically important Strait of Hormuz in an unprecedented show of force as Israel and Iran move towards the brink of war. Western leaders are convinced that Iran will retaliate to any attack by attempting to mine or blockade the shipping lane through which passes around 18 million barrels of oil every day, approximately 35 per cent of the world’s petroleum traded by sea. A blockade would have a catastrophic effect on the fragile economies of Britain, Europe the United States and Japan, all of which rely heavily on oil and gas supplies from the Gulf. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most congested international waterways. It is only 21 miles wide at its narrowest point and is bordered by the Iranian coast to the north and the United Arab Emirates to the south. In preparation for any pre-emptive or retaliatory action by Iran, warships from more than 25 countries, including the United States, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, will today begin an annual 12-day exercise. The war games are the largest ever undertaken in the region. They will practise tactics in how to breach an Iranian blockade of the strait and the force will also undertake counter-mining drills. The multi-national naval force in the Gulf includes three US Nimitz class carrier groups, each of which has more aircraft than the entire complement of the Iranian air force. The carriers are supported by at least 12 battleships, including ballistic missile cruisers, frigates, destroyers and assault ships carrying thousand of US Marines and special forces. The British component consists of four British minesweepers and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Cardigan Bay, a logistics vessel. HMS Diamond, a brand-new £1billion Type 45 destroyer, one of the most powerful ships in the British fleet, will also be operating in the region. In addition, commanders will also simulate destroying Iranian combat jets, ships and coastal missile batteries. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #6 Well the first word of this article being Bullcrap aside, it would make sense given the protests and attacks. I have no doubt Iran could have given support to Al-queda for the various embassy attacks and the Taliban attack in Hemland. Giving Champ something to think about for his re-election maybe? I'm not convinced Obama wouldn't shoot down an "unidentified" Aircraft heading to Iran. |
| Posted by: Charles 2012-09-15 22:36 |
| #5 Iran's main retaliatory response will likely be ala proxy Regional + International Terror, most certainly agz the US + Israel + now UK, + all other Govts-States determined by Iran to had supported the attack agz them. Again, IFF THE US DIDN'T WANT TO INVADE IRAN BEFORE, IT WILL HAVE TO INVADE NOW AFTER ANY ATTACK(S) BY IT ANDOR THE ISRAELIS AGZ IRAN, e.g. 2003 Iraq. I have no doubts there will be major TerrOps launched agz Washington + London [Royals]. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2012-09-15 22:23 |
| #4 Oooh..."battleships"! And this guy's a "defence" correspondent? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2012-09-15 22:07 |
| #3 Extra butter with that, Glinesh? |
| Posted by: Barbara 2012-09-15 21:23 |
| #2 September surprise? Telegraph story; haven't seen much in the U.S. media but that would be no surprise. They are too busy beating up on Romney. Article says Obama has meeting with Netanyahu today. The article was posted on 9-15. There is a lot of firepower being concentrated in the Gulf. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2012-09-15 20:59 |
| #1 Break out the popcorn. |
| Posted by: Glinesh Craling7938 2012-09-15 20:37 |