Drumbeats of War - Iran Will Board American Ships
The Iranian Majlis (their Parliament) has passed a law which calls for equivalent action against any nation who inspects an Iranian ship or airplane. If the US implements either the UN or our own expanded sanctions against Iran by boarding an Iranian ship to check for contraband, Iran promises to do the same to a US ship.
Emboldened by Russian (and other nations) support for Iran in opposition to the UN and US sanctions, the Iranians have drawn a line in the water. Will the United States step over it?
The US navy has been specifically practicing interdicting Iranian vessels for more than a year. One such exercise included training at Cape Fear River, in a place that very much looks like the Strait of Hormuz, including a large near-shore island bearing a striking resemblance to Hormuz Island.
The Iranians have been practicing interdiction of US shipping and oil tankers in the real Strait of Hormuz for almost as long. They do not have large sophisticated ships like the US does. But they do have lots and lots of low-tech small boats with very sophisticated weapons.
The Speaker of the Majlis, Ali Larijani, is in Geneva daring the United States to make the first move. Taunting the US at the World Conference of Speakers of Parliament, he said the United States “lacks the courage” to attack Iran. But that in any event, “Iran is ready for any possible incidents and is well aware of the ongoing developments in the region. If the US makes such a mistake, it will pay dearly.”
What I hear him saying is… Iran has been closely following the tremendous recent buildup of US and other Western military might in the region, assets whose primary function is a preemptive strike on Iran. And in reality, he thinks the US will very likely attack Iran.
But he knows that we know that Iran knows how to close the Strait of Hormuz. And he believes that Iran can do serious damage to American forces, especially since Iran and their proxies possess missiles that can probably sink most aircraft carriers.
It’s a dangerous game. And it looks as though we are very near the kickoff.
