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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran patrol boats threatened U.S. cargo ship, official says |
| 2015-04-29 |
| [USATODAY] Iranian naval forces have acted with mounting aggressiveness in the Persian Gulf region in the past week, including encircling and threatening a U.S.-flagged cargo vessel April 24, USA TODAY learned. The previously undisclosed incident follows news Tuesday that Iranian patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz fired across the bridge of the Maersk Tigris, a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel. Last week, the U.S. Navy monitored Iranian cargo vessels and warships suspected of running weapons to rebels in Yemen. The Navy is beefing up its ability to respond to threats in the region, said a senior Defense official speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... because the news was not authorized to be released publicly. Its aim is to "respond promptly to incidents in which U.S. and other partner nation commercial vessels are harassed or threatened" by Iranian patrol boats. In the incident involving an American ship, four Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps navy patrol ships intercepted the Maersk Kensington, a U.S.-flagged cargo vessel, in the southern Persian Gulf on an internationally recognized trade route, according to the Defense Department official. The confrontation began the morning of April 24 when the Iranian sailors radioed the Kensington, whose crew did not respond. The Iranian boats encircled the ship and came up behind it in waters off Oman. The Kensington's crew "interpreted this act as aggressive," the official said. The Iranian boats followed the Kensington before breaking off pursuit. The Kensington reported the threat to the U.S. Navy's Central Command. The Navy informed American shipping companies to report threatening incidents. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Obama would let Iran close the Straits of Hormuz if it meant that Iran would sign a nuclear agreement. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2015-04-29 11:34 |
| #1 HotAir: Pentagon lawyers discover we don’t have to defend our allies if threatened by Iran There is no better metric to measure the health of American hegemony than whether trade ships enjoy unfettered access to sea lanes. Global maritime law is among the more settled concepts in international law, and its violation has universally understood consequences. American naval power guarantees the right of safe passage, and hostile powers know that they will encounter resistance if they used military force to prevent commercial ships from proceeding along their routes. At least, they knew that until Tuesday. Today, the world awakes to a new reality in which the United States has blinked. If you’re watching affairs from Moscow, or Beijing, or Tehran, or the capital of any other revisionist power, why wouldn’t you believe that America’s alliances are barely worth the paper on which they are written? Why wouldn’t the Kremlin think it could test NATO’s commitment to the defense of Eastern European states. Would London, Paris, Berlin, and Washington really risk war with a nuclear power over a sliver of territory in eastern Estonia? It no longer seems like much of a risk to find out. Similarly, why would the People’s Republic of China believe that a flotilla of “fisherman” colonialists who establish a base on the contested Senkaku Islands would be resisted with force? There is simply no evidence to suggest that would be the case. At least, not under this administration. It’s a more dangerous world today, and much of that is a result of Barack Obama’s repeated displays of impotence and irresoluteness. Before this week, when it comes to America’s obligations to its allies, Obama’s “you’re on your own” doctrine was only perceived. Today, it’s precedent. |
| Posted by: Frank G 2015-04-29 10:09 |