Iranians threaten to blow up US Navy ships _ Hormuz Strait

Telegraph UK ^ | 4:12pm GMT 07/01/2008 | Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

US Navy commanders were moments away from firing on Iranian attack ships during a skirmish in the Straits of Hormuz, it has emerged.

• Damien McElory: American armada prepares to take on Iran

  A Pentagon spokesman revealed that five Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy boats harrassed and provoked three US ships in the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf at the weekend.

  	The Persian Gulf is the scene of tensions between Iran and the US

  The Iranian craft came within 200 yards of the US vessels, which were sailing in international waters.
  
  The Iranian provocations included disregarding warnings to pull back, dropping mysterious objects in the path of the US ships and a hostile radio transmission.

  The Pentagon said a radio message warned: "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes."

  The Iranian boats pulled away as a US Navy captain gave his crew orders to open fire.

  "Five small boats were acting in a very aggressive way, charging the ships, dropping boxes in the water in front of the ships and causing our ships to take evasive manoeuvres," the Pentagon official said.

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  "There were no injuries but there very well could have been."

  The incident further clouds US judgements about Iran's strategic intentions in the Persian Gulf. Tensions over Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons have seen the US navy and its Iranian counterparts move to a tense stand-off.

  A US-led coalition has steadily built up its firepower in the sensitive strait and Iranian commanders manoeuvre dangerously in response.

  In March, Iran seized 15 Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines in the Gulf and accused them of trespassing in Iranian territory while they inspected a merchant vessel. The Government maintained that they were in Iraqi waters.

  The British personnel were held for almost two weeks before being freed in what Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said was a "gift" to the British people.

  Iran's Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment on the Pentagon's claims, first reported on CNN.

[BlueNgold]

Dupe Post

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

H/T to the Captain's Quarters :

How Close Were We To War?

*************************EXCERPT*********************

According to The Telegraph, we came within moments of open warfare with Iran. Iranian patrol boats harassed the US Navy in international waters in the Straits of Hormuz over the weekend. They dropped unknown objects in the water and sent a threat of attack over the radio, only dispersing as the commander of the American fleet gave orders to open fire:

A Pentagon spokesman revealed that five Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy boats harrassed and provoked three US ships in the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf at the weekend.

The Iranian craft came within 200 yards of the US vessels, which were sailing in international waters.

The Iranian provocations included disregarding warnings to pull back, dropping mysterious objects in the path of the US ships and a hostile radio transmission.

The Pentagon said a radio message warned: "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes."

Ten months ago, the Iranians tested British resolve in the Gulf, and came away with an important propaganda victory after capturing 15 Royal Navy sailors and marines. The UK did not engage in a military response, and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave the Brits a "gift" by returning the captives.

Undoubtedly, Iran wanted to test American resolve, but could not isolate a small enough vessel to pursue a similar mission. Instead, they basically did a probe to see how far they could go before provoking an armed response. This information could prove useful for Iran's terrorist partners in Hezbollah and Islamic Jihad in the Gulf and elsewhere. It looks suspiciously like a dry run for a repeat of the USS Cole bombing in Aden seven years ago.

This cannot be allowed to happen again. The next time patrol boats approach American vessels and threaten attack, one of them has to head to the bottom of the gulf. If the Iranians want a test, we can provide them with one for emergency evac.

Posted by Ed Morrissey on January 7, 2008 11:24 AM

[Brilliant]

Make my day.

[AngelesCrestHighway]

US Navy commanders were moments away from firing on Iranian attack ships during a skirmish in the Straits of Hormuz, it has emerged......Fire away!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Getting serious ...ping!

[Ancient Drive]

Fire away!!I want to see what 1200 rounds of.30 mm fired in less than 7 seconds will to that water infestation. lmao

[RightWhale]

This is big. Maybe it’s just Persians riding out to flip the bird at their enemy, but it could go south quickly. Oil is down $2 to $95 in response.

[jveritas]

If the terrorist regime in Tehran is that stupid, then let them fire the first shot and they will know the real meaning of HELL.

[MEG33]

Iranian boats provoked 3 U.S. Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz [scroll]
CNN ^ | Jan 07, 2008

Posted on 01/07/2008 8:01:09 AM CST by PurpleMan

Grandson ‘s ship is a cruiser and in the area.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Related article:

Iran spy post heightens Gulf tension with US

**************************EXCERPT************************

By Gethin Chamberlain, Sunday Telegraph

Last Updated: 2:31am BST 17/09/2007

Iran has established a sophisticated spying operation at the head of the Gulf in a move which has significantly heightened tensions in its standoff with the United States.

• Age of the cyber spy

  The operation, masterminded by the country’s elite Revolutionary Guard, includes the construction of a high-tech spying post close to the point where Iranian forces kidnapped 15 British naval personnel in March.

  The move has forced British and American commanders to divert resources away from protecting oil platforms in the Gulf from terrorist attack and into countering the new Iranian threat.

  The US military says that the spying post, build on the foundations of a crane platform sunk during the Iran-Iraq war, is equipped with radar, cameras and forward facing infra-red devices to track the movement of coalition naval forces and commercial shipping in the northern Gulf.

  Commanders fear that one of the main purposes of the Iranian operation is to enable the Revolutionary Guard to intercept more coalition vessels moving through the disputed waters near the mouth of the Shatt al Arab waterway south of the Iraqi city of Basra.

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  The disastrous British handling of the hostage crisis has convinced some in the Iranian regime that there is mileage in further such attempts.

  But the US military believes the listening post could also be used to help Iranian forces target commercial shipping in response to any US air strikes on its nuclear facilities.

  Such operations would form part of their threat to launch guerrilla or asymmetric attacks on western interests if Iran is attacked.

[AmericaUnited]

I would just stream a pig-fat solution from the ships fire-control hoses. Nonlethal but extremely humiliating.

[RightWhale]

Two cousins aboard Navy ships in region. They are ready.

[stuartcr]

I doubt they will fire first. All they need to do, is for us to fire first, then they have achieved a propaganda victory similar to the Brit incident.

[dragnet2]

The Iranian craft came within 200 yards of the US vessels, which were sailing in international waters.

Why would our commanders allow this? How many drive by explosions from rubber rafts shall we tolerate?

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Prayers for all of our Soldiers and Sailors ...this could be where it all starts.

I think there is a Press Conference by the President coming up shortly this morning...we may hear something on this.

[RightWhale]

Who would benefit from closing the Strait? Russia as producer would, but Europe, Japan, China, and India as market would not.

[MEG33]

I know they are ready...Grandmother’s heart rate increases nevertheless..
;o)

[Cyber Liberty]

How did the Iranians know there was “an order to fire?” If they simply intercepted a radio transmission, then that needs to be fixed. The Iranian’s first warning should have been pieces of boat flying.

[azhenfud]

Those intimidators need their asses kicked just for the example...