I can't imagine Obama ever giving the order to sink, shoot at or in any way harm an Iranian ship... I just don't see that happening. But... I can imagine him asking the Saudis to refrain from sinking or shooting at the Iranian ships "in the interest of peace".
I hope I'm wrong, but I do believe that our presence is actually going to make it safer for these ships to reach their destination.
Obama has set us up for failure. No way he is going to attack those Iranian ships. He desperately wants that nuclear deal and will do anything to get it.
And you’re right; in the end our ships will be there only to “maintain the peace”. In the process we will be made to look even weaker and the U.S. will be taken down yet another notch.
As usual, the “Republican controlled congress” will sit there and do nothing. Situation normal.