https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Praying_Mantis
Posted on 05/10/2019 8:35:01 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
LONDON - U.S. commercial ships including oil tankers sailing through key Middle East waterways could be targeted by Iran in one of the threats to U.S. interests posed by Tehran, the U.S. Maritime Administration said in an advisory.
In the advisory posted on Thursday, the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) said that since early May there had been an increased possibility of Iran or its regional proxies taking action against U.S. and partner interests.
These included, MARAD said, oil production infrastructure, after Tehran threatened to close the vital Strait of Hormuz chokepoint through which about one third of the world’s seaborne crude exports flow.
“Iran or its proxies could respond by targeting commercial vessels, including oil tankers, or U.S. military vessels in the Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, or the Persian Gulf,” MARAD said.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Either there is some bluffing going on or we have intelligence that is real, and we want Iran to know it.
Maybe they are trying to get the Iranians to infer that Kerry is sharing Iranian intel with us, preventing him from going over there any more for fear of his life.
Just wildly speculating.
If Iran jumps ugly with USA, President Trump will sink Kharg Island.
This could be the false flag everyone’s been waiting for to get the war started.
Trump really seems to want to stay out of armed conflicts. For starters, it saves a ton of money.
A big red flag for me was Pompeo's trip to Iraq earlier this week. Pompeo is the U.S. Secretary of State, not the Secretary of Defense ... so there's a strong possibility that the trip was primarily a diplomatic one, not military.
My suspicion is that the U.S. relationship with the government of Iraq is hanging by a thread, and that our biggest concern with Iran isn't its threat to ocean commerce, but its infiltration of the Iraqi government.
Maybe they need to start putting guns on the deck...like they did the Liberty ships of WW2?
> This could be the false flag everyone’s been waiting for to get the war started. <
Well, it has worked before. The Gulf of Tonkin incident comes to mind.
I can’t see Trump instigating anything like that. But John Bolton, oh yeah.
Right.
We are finally out of Syria and Iraq and Afghanistan, when few people thought that would ever happen.
Thank God we have a sane Chief Executive!
Tanker war redux. If Iran starts attacking shipping, I expect open season on Iran’s nuclear program.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Praying_Mantis
If that happens the Iranian Navy and Air Force would cease to exist. We would also destroy the oil loading docks on the Persian Gulf. Iran would have no income except for the meager portions they could move via land tankers to Turkey.
Take a look on google maps at Kharg Island. It is their major export center. It is a mass of oil storage tanks and loading facilities. A few B52s would render it a raging inferno.
Our fly-boys would enjoy the hell out of this.
Iran’s nuclear program would be a tough hard target requiring a large, high risk investment. However, all of Iran’s oil exports come from one island that is not even connected with a bridge. It would take only one cruise missile hitting one storage tank and I think Iran would start playing nice. Low risk, easy target.
[We are finally out of Syria and Iraq and Afghanistan, when few people thought that would ever happen.]
Then if/when the time comes, it should be a ‘one and done’ type of thing?
Sounds easy.
[Iran’s nuclear program would be a tough hard target requiring a large, high risk investment.]
Liberals haven’t stopped whining and complaining in two years.
Nobody listens anymore. Case in point - CNN just gave nearly 100 the boot.
Waiting for a USS Liberty Redux.
Well if Iran wants a war are B52s are now there to accommodate them!
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