 Iran claimed to have taken surveillance footage of a US aircraft carrier near the Strait of Hormuz as both countries raised the stakes in their standoff over the key oil route.
Probably by an RC aircraft the size of a large bird flying on an erratic course at slow speed. Big whoop. How big is the bomb it can drop?
"We will not relinquish our strategic moves if Iran's vital interests are undermined by any means," General Hossein Salami told Press TV.
That's fine. Your secrets will be safe under all those piles of rubble.
This afternoon, the US also announced it was selling more than 80 F-15 strike aircraft to Saudi Arabia, an American ally and Iran's main rival for military dominance in the Middle East. Without specifically naming Iran, the State Department said the sale was intended as "a strong message to countries in the region that the United States is committed to stability in the Gulf and broader Middle East."
I wonder how many Iranian F-5s an F-15 could take out before it ran out of fuel or missiles and had to return to base to get more. I hope they have extra pilots so they can work in shifts.
Barry Pavel, Director of the Brent Scowcroft Centre on International Security at the Atlantic Council, said that Iran's navy was potentially capable of closing the Strait but would be unlikely to do so because of the country's dependence on revenues from oil exports. "It would have to be a very extreme situation for Iran to basically shut down its own economy," he said.
And, as a bonus, invite every affected Western power to come pummel their a$$ all at the same time. Smart. Got any dams, ports, navies, airforce or army bases, armies, mobile phone systems, bridges, petroleum storage facilities, refineries, grain silos, bunkers, nuclear facilities, heavy manufacturing facilities, wells hiding 12th Imams, electric/water/gas distribution systems, sewer systems, government campuses, and TV/radio stations that need recycling?Make sure your hospitals have lots of extra diesel on hand to run the generators or donate to the futile efforts of the Republican Guard as necessary.
The Iranian threat to close the narrow shipping lane was made after the EU, backed by the US, announced it was tightening sanctions on Iran for pressing ahead with its nuclear programme. Europe buys around 20 per cent of all Iranian oil exports and a full embargo would cause serious damage to Iran's economy.
Not to mention its infrastructure. 
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