Posted by
John Robie on Thursday, January 10, 2008 6:33:24 AM
|
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% of the world’s oil supply is shipped. The strait is approximately 50 km wide, making it the narrowest point in the Persian Gulf. The strait functions as a choke point for one of the most important trade routes in the world. Previous intelligence reports indicate that Iran has plans to attack the US and allied naval ships along with private vessels in the Straits of Hormuz. Iran’s reason for doing so would be to prevent any US military action against their nuclear programs. The supposed attack plan would also possess an economic warfare component designed to cut off the regional oil trade, thus damaging America’s economy along with the global economy.
A plausible interpretation of last weekend’s incident is that it was some type of test run for the Iranian attack plan. The exact purposes of Iran’s actions remain unclear, but Strategic Intelligence Estimates.com believes the threatening maneuvers were possibly designed to accomplish some of these following purposes:
continued...http://www.strategicintelligenceestimates.com/foreignintelligence/threatassessments.html
|