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U.S. Military: Tense Encounters With Iran Occur Almost Daily in Strait of Hormuz WASHINGTON — EXCLUSIVE: Amid false allegations from Iranian media that a U.S. plane was forced down after accidentally entering Iranian airspace, FOX News learned Tuesday about another tense incident that occurred last month near the Strait of Hormuz. On Sept. 6, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard threatened to shoot down U.S. helicopters flying cover aboard the USS Peliliu patrolling in the area, according to a classified military transcript of the radio exchange. According to the transcript, the Peleliu, while en route to the Strait from the Gulf of...

Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, met with House Democrats yesterday, talking about his trip abroad and his observations. Obama told the caucus, according to an attendee, "Nobody said this to me directly but I get the feeling from my talks that if the sanctions don’t work Israel is going to strike Iran." The notion that Israel is preparing for such an action against Iran's myriad nuclear facilities is not new, with conjecture heating up in May after an Israeli military exercise featuring 150 aircraft flying almost a thousand miles over the Mediterranean Sea in what was seen as a dress rehearsal...

In case Iran’s interests in the region are jeopardized, it will shut down the strategic Strait of Hormuz and will not allow the others to use it, Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Hassan Firuzabadi warned here on Saturday. “The Strait of Hormuz being open is of considerable importance for us but if our interests are ignored, it is all clear that we will close the strait” Firuzabadi stressed. Addressing the U.S. troops in the region, he said “The U.S. army belongs to its government and should not be abused by such warlike and extremists as George Bush...

Al-Qaeda Draws New Recruits Via Internet Al-Qaeda is using the Internet to recruit vulnerable young people to its terrorist network, according to a programme aired on Saudi Arabian TV late on Tuesday. Umm Osama, the founder of al-Qaeda's first women-only website, al-Khansa, joined several others on the programme to discuss how they renounced jihadist ideology. Among those who sought a response to this question was an imam from the Medina mosque, Saleh Ibn Awad al-Mudamsi, and the father of a young al-Qaeda suspect held in an Iraqi prison. Read More Qaeda Targets U.S. Oil Interests in North Africa U.S....

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's military chiefs warned on Saturday that the Islamic republic would shut down the Strait of Hormuz vital for oil exports and use "blitzkrieg tactics" in the Gulf if it came under attack.

January 10, 2008 2:59 AM EST Threat Assessment Regarding US Ships in the Persian Gulf Last weekend’s incident involving Iranian fast boats and US naval ships underscores the volatile nature of the Persian Gulf. During the incident, a US naval convoy was approached by five fast boats operated by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard (IRG). The Iranian boats came within 200 meters of convoy and issued threats indicating that they were conducting a suicide attack of some sort. The Iranian boats then turned around and fled the area. The incident occurred in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz, through which 20%...

What Happens If Iran Blocks The Strait Of Hormuz? August 27, 2007 The Wall Street Journal Matt Chambers As tensions simmer between the U.S. and Iran, a big energy threat hangs over the world...Iran has said that if the U.S. attacks, it will respond by disrupting trade through the Strait of Hormuz -- the narrow gateway that tankers use to bring oil from the Persian Gulf to the rest of the world. About two-fifths of the world's seaborne oil passes through the Strait. As tensions simmer between the U.S. and Iran, a big energy threat hangs over the world. Iran...

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - A U.S. nuclear-powered submarine collided with a Japanese oil tanker in the Straits of Hormuz, through which 40 percent of the world's oil supplies travel, officials said. No one was hurt in the accident that happened Monday night in the 34-mile wide straits, which are bordered by Iran and Oman and serve as the entrance to the Persian Gulf. Damage to the fast-attack USS Newport News submarine and the supertanker was light and there was no resulting spill of oil or leakage of nuclear fuel, officials from the U.S. Navy and the Japanese government said....

A senior Iranian officer warned that if the West continues to threaten Iran's economy over its nuclear program, Teheran will discontinue the flow of oil via the Strait of Hormuz, Israel Radio reported Monday.

A largely overlooked article in the Sunday Telegraph (London), datelined Washington April 12, 2006, should have been a wake-up call for our top policymakers. This piece convincingly described Iran's alarming potential for seizing control of the Persian Gulf. The probable Iranian conviction they have this ability must no doubt be perceived by them as greatly strengthening their position on nuclear development. There are, however, measures, noted below, we could and should quickly take to counter this Iranian threat. As the Sunday Telegraph notes,

   Idiom(t?)s March 23, 2006 The now eviscerated DPW (Dubai Ports World) deal brings to mind some good idioms for the idiots in Congress who: (1) should shut their mouths and open their eyes; (2) can't see beyond the end of their noses and (3) cut off their noses to spite their faces.  The first being an insurmountable challenge for Chuck Schumer.  It’s absolutely amazing that the entire political population of Washington, D.C can’t stop talking long enough to just open their eyes and look at a map.  I would suggest a map of the Strait of Hormuz. If you really...