naturalfeature:strait of hormuz

  • To Evade Sanctions on Iran, Ships Vanish in Plain Sight - The New York Times
    https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/02/world/middleeast/china-oil-iran-sanctions.html

    A week ago, a small tanker ship approached the Persian Gulf after a 19-day voyage from China. The captain, as required by international rules, reported the ship’s position, course, speed and another key detail: It was riding high in the water, meaning it was probably empty.

    Then the Chinese-owned ship, the Sino Energy 1, went silent and essentially vanished from the grid.

    It reported in again on Sunday, near the spot where it had vanished six days earlier, only now it was heading east, away from the Strait of Hormuz near Iran. If past patterns hold, the captain will soon report that it is riding low in the water, meaning its tanks are most likely full.

    @simplicissimus

  • U.A.E. Splits With U.S. Over Blame for Oil Tanker Attack in May - Bloomberg
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-26/u-a-e-splits-with-u-s-over-blame-for-oil-tanker-attack-in-may


    A U.S. Navy vessel guards the Japanese oil tanker Kokuka Courageous in the Gulf of Oman.
    Photographer: Mumen Khatib/AFP via Getty Images

    The United Arab Emirates appeared to distance itself from U.S. claims that pinned attacks on oil tankers near the Strait of Hormuz on Iran.

    Honestly we can’t point the blame at any country because we don’t have evidence,” Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan said on Wednesday in Moscow. “If there is a country that has the evidence, then I’m convinced that the international community will listen to it. But we need to make sure the evidence is precise and convincing.

    While an investigation by the U.A.E., Norway and Saudi Arabia concluded that a “state actor” was most likely behind the incident in May, no nation was singled out. Still, U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton has said that Iran was almost certainly responsible.

  • Oman attack: Iran is the immediate, but unlikely, suspect - Iran - Haaretz.com

    Oman attack: Iran is the immediate, but unlikely, suspect
    U.S. officials rushed to point to Tehran, but somehow the world’s leading intelligence services failed to discover who is actually behind the strike. And even if they knew, what could be done without risking all-out war?
    Zvi Bar’el | Jun. 14, 2019 | 8:36 AM | 3
    https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/iran/.premium-oman-attack-iran-is-the-immediate-but-unlikely-suspect-1.7368134


    A unnamed senior U.S. Defense Department official was quick to tell CBS that Iran was “apparently” behind the Thursday attack on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman, followed by State Secretary Mike Pompeo who later told reported that it was his government’s assessment. There’s nothing new about that, but neither is it a decisive proof.

    Who, then, struck the tankers? Whom does this strike serve and what can be done against such attacks?

    In all previous attacks in the Gulf in recent weeks Iran was naturally taken to be the immediate suspect. After all, Iran had threatened that if it could now sell its oil in the Gulf, other countries would not be able to ship oil through it; Tehran threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, and in any case it’s in the sights of the United States, Saudi Arabia and Israel. But this explanation is too easy.

    The Iranian regime is in the thrones of a major diplomatic struggle to persuade Europe and its allies, Russia and China, not to take the path of pulling out of the 2015 nuclear agreement. At the same time, Iran is sure that the United States is only looking for an excuse to attack it. Any violent initiative on Tehran’s part could only make things worse and bring it close to a military conflict, which it must avoid.

    Iran has announced it would scale back its commitments under the nuclear deal by expanding its low-level uranium enrichment and not transferring the remainder of its enriched uranium and heavy water to another country, as the agreement requires. The International Atomic Energy Agency’s reports reveal that it has indeed stepped up enrichment, but not in a way that could support a military nuclear program.

    It seems that alongside its diplomatic efforts, Iran prefers to threaten to harm the nuclear deal itself, responding to Washington with the same token, rather than escalate the situation to a military clash.

    Other possible suspects are the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, who continue to pound Saudi targets with medium-range missiles, as was the case last week with strikes on the Abha and Jizan airports, near the Yemeni border, which wounded 26 people. The Houthis have also fired missiles at Riyadh and hit targets in the Gulf. In response, Saudi Arabia launched a massive missile strike on Houthi-controlled areas in northern Yemen.

    The strike on the oil tankers may have been a response to the response, but if this is the case, it goes against Iran’s policy, which seeks to neutralize any pretexts for a military clash in the Gulf. The question, therefore, is whether Iran has full control over all the actions the Houthis take, and whether the aid it gives them commits them fully to its policies, or whether they see assaults on Saudi targets as a separate, local battle, cut off from Iran’s considerations.

    The Houthis have claimed responsibility for some of their actions in Saudi territory in the past, and at times even took the trouble of explaining the reasons behind this assault or the other. But not this time.

    Yemen also hosts large Al-Qaida cells and Islamic State outposts, with both groups having a running account with Saudi Arabia and apparently the capabilities to carry out strikes on vessels moving through the Gulf.

    In the absence of confirmed and reliable information on the source of the fire, we may meanwhile discount the possibility of a Saudi or American provocation at which Iran has hinted, but such things have happened before. However, we may also wonder why some of the most sophisticated intelligence services in the world are having so much trouble discovering who actually carried out these attacks.

    Thwarting such attacks with no precise intelligence is an almost impossible task, but even if the identity of those responsible for it is known, the question of how to respond to the threat would still arise.

    If it turns out that Iran initiated or even carried out these attacks, American and Saudi military forces could attack its Revolutionary Guards’ marine bases along the Gulf coast, block Iranian shipping in the Gulf and persuade European countries to withdraw from the nuclear deal, claiming that continuing relations with Iran would mean supporting terrorism in general, and maritime terrorism in particular.

    The concern is that such a military response would lead Iran to escalate its own and openly strike American and Saudi targets in the name of self-defense and protecting its sovereignty. In that case, a large-scale war would be inevitable. But there’s no certainty that U.S. President Donald Trump, who wants to extricate his forces from military involvement in the Middle East, truly seeks such a conflict, which could suck more and more American forces into this sensitive arena.

    An escape route from this scenario would require intensive mediation efforts between Iran and the United States, but therein lies one major difficulty – finding an authoritative mediator that could pressure both parties. Russia or China are not suitable candidates, and ties between Washington and the European Union are acrimonious.

    It seems that all sides would be satisfied if they could place responsibility for the attacks on the Houthis or other terror groups. That is not to say that the United States or Saudi Arabia have any magic solutions when it comes to the Houthis; far from it. The war in Yemen has been going on for five years now with no military resolution, and increased bombardment of concentrations of Houthi forces could only expand their efforts to show their strength. But the United States would pay none of the diplomatic or military price for assaults on the Houthis it would for a forceful violent response against Iran itself.

    If sporadic, small-scale attacks raise such complex dilemmas, one can perhaps dream of an all-out war with Iran, but it is enough to look at the chaos in Iraq and Afghanistan to grow extremely cautious of the trajectory in which such dreams become a nightmare that lasts for decades.❞
    #Oman #Iran
    https://seenthis.net/messages/786937

    • UPDATE 1-"Flying objects" damaged Japanese tanker during attack in Gulf of Oman
      Junko Fujita – June 14, 2019
      (Adds comments from company president)
      By Junko Fujita
      https://www.reuters.com/article/mideast-tanker-japan-damage/update-1-flying-objects-damaged-japanese-tanker-during-attack-in-gulf-of-om

      TOKYO, June 14 (Reuters) - Two “flying objects” damaged a Japanese tanker owned by Kokuka Sangyo Co in an attack on Thursday in the Gulf of Oman, but there was no damage to the cargo of methanol, the company president said on Friday.

      The Kokuka Courageous is now sailing toward the port of Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates, with the crew having returned to the ship after evacuating because of the incident, Kokuka President Yutaka Katada told a press conference. It was being escorted by the U.S. Navy, he said.

      “The crew told us something came flying at the ship, and they found a hole,” Katada said. “Then some crew witnessed the second shot.”

      Katada said there was no possibility that the ship, carrying 25,000 tons of methanol, was hit by a torpedo.

      The United States has blamed Iran for attacking the Kokuka Courageous and another tanker, the Norwegian-owned Front Altair, on Thursday, but Tehran has denied the allegations.

      The ship’s crew saw an Iranian military ship in the vicinity on Thursday night Japan time, Katada said.

      Katada said he did not believe Kokuka Courageous was targetted because it was owned by a Japanese firm. The tanker is registered in Panama and was flying a Panamanian flag, he said.

      “Unless very carefully examined, it would be hard to tell the tanker was operated or owned by Japanese,” he said. (...)

  • Exclusive: Insurer says Iran’s Guards likely to have organized tanker attacks - Reuters
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-oil-tankers-exclusive-idUSKCN1SN1P7


    Port officials take a photo of the damaged tanker Andrea Victory at the Port of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, May 13, 2019.
    REUTERS/Satish Kumar/File Photo

    LONDON/OSLO (Reuters) - Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) are “highly likely” to have facilitated attacks last Sunday on four tankers including two Saudi ships off Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, according to a Norwegian insurers’ report seen by Reuters.

    The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Norway are investigating the attacks, which also hit a UAE- and a Norwegian-flagged vessel.

    A confidential assessment issued this week by the Norwegian Shipowners’ Mutual War Risks Insurance Association (DNK) concluded that the attack was likely to have been carried out by a surface vessel operating close by that despatched underwater drones carrying 30-50 kg (65-110 lb) of high-grade explosives to detonate on impact.

    The attacks took place against a backdrop of U.S.-Iranian tension following Washington’s decision this month to try to cut Tehran’s oil exports to zero and beef up its military presence in the Gulf in response to what it called Iranian threats.

    The DNK based its assessment that the IRGC was likely to have orchestrated the attacks on a number of factors, including:
    • A high likelihood that the IRGC had previously supplied its allies, the Houthi militia fighting a Saudi-backed government in Yemen, with explosive-laden surface drone boats capable of homing in on GPS navigational positions for accuracy.
    • The similarity of shrapnel found on the Norwegian tanker to shrapnel from drone boats used off Yemen by Houthis, even though the craft previously used by the Houthis were surface boats rather than the underwater drones likely to have been deployed in Fujairah.
    • The fact that Iran and particularly the IRGC had recently threatened to use military force and that, against a militarily stronger foe, they were highly likely to choose “asymmetric measures with plausible deniability”. DNK noted that the Fujairah attack had caused “relatively limited damage” and had been carried out at a time when U.S. Navy ships were still en route to the Gulf.

    Both the Saudi-flagged crude oil tanker Amjad and the UAE-flagged bunker vessel A.Michel sustained damage in the area of their engine rooms, while the Saudi tanker Al Marzoqah was damaged in the aft section and the Norwegian tanker Andrea Victory suffered extensive damage to the stern, DNK said.

    The DNK report said the attacks had been carried out between six and 10 nautical miles off Fujairah, which lies close to the Strait of Hormuz.

  • Navy Bid to Retire Truman Stirs Debate Over Aircraft Carriers - Bloomberg
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-21/navy-bid-to-retire-truman-stirs-debate-over-aircraft-carriers


    The USS Harry S. Truman transits the Strait of Hormuz on Dec. 26, 2015
    Photographer: Mass Communication Specialist 2n/U.S. Navy

    Visiting the USS Gerald R. Ford two years ago, U.S. President Donald Trump extolled the importance of an enlarged naval force featuring a dozen aircraft carriers—including the Ford, the most expensive ship ever built.

    Having 12 of these behemoths—sometimes accompanied by a half-dozen other ships—would send an international signal of U.S. resolve and restore the fleet to its post-Cold War size during the 1990s.

    The Pentagon’s latest budget proposal, however, seems to do the opposite.

    The Defense Department is seeking to—at least for now—shrink the carrier fleet, proposing that the USS Harry Truman be effectively decommissioned in 2024. This would mean that a multibillion-dollar, nuclear-powered super-carrier deployed in 2000 would be mothballed two decades before the end of its service life. 

    The Pentagon plan would skip the vessel’s $6.5 billion midlife nuclear refueling and overhaul to save funds for other military priorities. The Ford alone costs $13 billion.

    The proposal—which already faces congressional headwinds—would for a time leave the Navy with 10 carriers, one fewer than the congressionally mandated fleet size. Senator James Inhofe, an Oklahoma Republican and chairman of the Armed Services Committee, signaled last week that he opposes the plan. “I’m a little disturbed by the idea,” he said.

    Patrick Shanahan, the acting U.S. secretary of defense, said the decision “represents some of the strategic choices we made in this year’s budget.

    Being forced to choose, however, may prompt Congress to simply find more money to rehabilitate the Truman and move forward with an existing deal to buy a second and third Ford-class carrier. A similar quandary during the Obama administration was resolved this way. Indeed, there’s some question as to whether the Truman proposal is simply a feint: The Navy’s new 30-year shipbuilding plan has a section called “Navy The Nation Needs,” which includes 12 carriers as part of a desired 355-vessel fleet.

  • Iran starts Gulf war games, to test submarine-launched missiles | Reuters
    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-gulf-wargames-idUSKCN1QB0TN


    Frégate Sahand, WP

    Iran on Friday began large-scale naval drills at the mouth of the Gulf, which will feature its first submarine cruise missile launches, state media reported, at a time of rising tensions with the United States.

    More than 100 vessels were taking part in the three-day war games in a vast area stretching from the Strait of Hormuz to the Indian Ocean, the state news agency IRNA reported.

    The exercise will cover confronting a range of threats, testing weapons, and evaluating the readiness of equipment and personnel,” navy commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi, said in remarks carried by state television.

    Submarine missile launches will be carried out ... in addition to helicopter and drone launches from the deck of the _Sahand destroyer,” Khanzadi said.

    State media said Iran would be testing its new domestically built _Fateh (Conqueror) submarine which is armed with cruise missiles and was launched last week.

  • Oman’s Port Strategy – LobeLog
    https://lobelog.com/omans-port-strategy

    Within the Arabian Peninsula, Duqm and Salalah have much potential to further shape geopolitical relations amid strategic shifts in the regional balance of power. Any major investments by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Duqm (and other Omani projects) should be watched closely for their effect on intra-Gulf politics. Some analysts contend that both countries are attempting to restrict the Sultanate’s geopolitical maneuverability as Muscat and Tehran try to maintain cooperative relations. As Riyadh and Abu Dhabi may use their petro-dollars to influence Oman’s future position in an increasingly polarized Gulf, they could use investments in Omani infrastructure projects as another way to gain leverage. Likewise, Oman’s trade infrastructure proved highly useful to Qatar last year when Doha needed alternatives to Jebel Ali as a logistics hub linking the emirate to the global economy.

    It goes without saying that Iran itself is a key factor in this equation. If tensions in the Strait of Hormuz escalate, Duqm and Salalah would need to prepare for any trade-related ramifications. The Omani government must stay vigilant and aware of any escalations of friction amid increasingly harsh rhetoric from Washington and Tehran that threaten to unleash an armed conflict in or near the strait. Yet the ports’ advantageous geographic locations could help Gulf states continue to sell their oil and gas in the event of such a crisis, as shipments via Duqm and Salalah will not need to travel through the strait. Whereas Saudi Arabia has its Red Sea coast and the UAE has one Emirate (Fujairah) outside the strait, which would enable these two states to continue exporting oil in the event of the strait’s closure, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar are fully dependent on that artery for their hydrocarbon exports. As Amer No’man Ashour, chief analyst and economist at CNBC Arabia, explains:

    We all know that more than 30 per cent of oil shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz and with this shift via the Port of Fujairah and the Duqm port, the GCC countries will ensure that their oil shipments are safe, and this will decrease the risk and the cost of insurance on ships… Al-Duqm Port is one of the best ever solutions to the oil issue… It is 800 kilometres away from UAE borders. We know that the UAE has had a partial solution via Fujairah with a capacity of 1.1 million barrels per day, but the production of the UAE is almost 3 million barrels per day. Most of Kuwait, Qatari and Saudi oil is produced in the eastern parts of the Gulf area and this new Omani port will be very suitable for exporting oil to the world.

    #oman #grand_jeu

  • Iran says it has full control of Gulf, U.S. Navy does not belong there | Reuters
    https://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKCN1LC0NJ

    Iran has full control of the Gulf and the U.S. Navy does not belong there, the head of the navy of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, General Alireza Tangsiri, was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying on Monday.

    Tehran has suggested it could take military action in the Gulf to block other countries’ oil exports in retaliation for U.S. sanctions intended to halt its sales of crude. Washington maintains a fleet in the Gulf that protects oil shipping routes.

    Tangsiri said Iran had full control of the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz that leads into it. Closing the strait would be the most direct way of blocking shipping.

    We can ensure the security of the Persian Gulf and there is no need for the presence of aliens like the U.S. and the countries whose home is not in here,” he said in the quote, which appeared in English translation on Tasnim.

  • Trump, Iran and the New Guns of August - Bloomberg
    https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-07-24/trump-iran-and-the-new-guns-of-august


    Deadly pests.
    Photographer : Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images

    Saudi Arabia, under the dynamic leadership of young, capable Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, is determined to stop further Persian encroachment into the Arab world. The two nations share long coastlines of the Gulf, where they have fought for centuries. And the key to the entire area is the narrow sea entrance: the 30-mile wide Strait of Hormuz.
    […]
    Unfortunately, the Iranians are far more ideological than Kim Jong Un. Kim is a gangster leader who will respond to monetary incentives; the ayatollahs are religious zealots, many of whom are willing to die to defy the Great Satan.

    Analyse géopolitique tout en finesse par James Stavridis, SACEUR de 2009 à 2013…

    On s’inquiète beaucoup pour Ormuz, mais c’est Bab el-Mandeb et Hodeidah qui chauffent en ce moment.

  • Iranian navy endangering international navigation in Gulf: U.S. commanders | Reuters
    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-security-carrier-idUSKBN16T2CZ

    U.S. Navy commanders accused Iran of jeopardizing international navigation by “harassing” warships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and said future incidents could result in miscalculation and lead to an armed clash.

    They spoke after the U.S. aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush confronted what one of the commanding officers described as two sets of Iranian Navy fast-attack boats that had approached a U.S.-led, five-vessel flotilla as it entered the Strait on Tuesday on a journey from the Indian Ocean into the Gulf.

    It was the first time a U.S. carrier entered the narrow waterway, where up to 30 percent of global oil exports pass annually, since President Donald Trump took office in January pledging a tougher U.S. stance toward Iran.

    U.S. commanders said Tuesday’s incident, in which the George H.W. Bush sent helicopter gunships to hover over the Iranian speedboats as some came as close as 950 yards (870 meters) away from the aircraft carrier, ended without a shot being fired.

  • U.S. Navy ship changes course after Iran vessels come close: U.S. official | Reuters
    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-navy-idUSKBN16D1X3

    Multiple fast-attack vessels from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps came close to a U.S. Navy ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, forcing it to change direction, a U.S. official told Reuters on Monday.

    The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the boats came within 600 yards (meters) of the USNS Invincible, a tracking ship, and stopped. The Invincible and three ships from the British Royal Navy accompanying it had to change course.

    The official said attempts were made to communicate over radio, but there was no response and the interaction was “unsafe and unprofessional.

    • Ici, la légende de la photo est plutôt comique…


      The USNS Invincible, an unarmed scientific-research vessel.
      US Navy

      A swarm of Iranian fast-attack boats forced a US Navy ship to change course in the Persian Gulf
      http://www.businessinsider.fr/us/usns-liberty-iran-force-us-navy-to-change-course-2017-3

      Lawrence Brennan, a former US Navy captain and an expert on maritime law, said the Invincible is a scientific-research vessel and was unlikely armed except for “small arms for self defense.

      The US Navy officially lists the Invincible as a “missile range instrumentation ship” that monitors missile launches and collects data, so it was likely in the region because of Iran’s repeated ballistic-missile launches.

      The Invincible carries out a mission similar to that of the Russian spy ship that sat outside a US submarine base in Connecticut.

    • Dans l’autre sens, comme mentionné ci-dessus, ça donne ça :

      Russian spy ship lurks off Connecticut coast - CNNPolitics.com
      http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/15/politics/russian-spy-plane-off-connecticut-coast

      CNN reported that the Viktor Leonov, which conducted similar patrols in 2014 and 2015, was off the coast of Delaware Wednesday, but typically it only travels as far as Virginia.

      The ship is based with Russia’s northern fleet on the North Sea but had stopped over in Cuba before conducting its patrol along the Atlantic Coast and is expected to return there following its latest mission.

      The vessel is outfitted with a variety of high-tech spying equipment and is designed to intercept signals intelligence. The official said that the US Navy is “keeping a close eye on it.
      The Leonov is a Vishnya-class spy ship, as is a Russian vessel that trailed the US ship that encountered close-flying Russian aircraft in the Black Sea on Friday.

    • version iranienne :

      U.S. ship changed course toward Iranians on Saturday : Iran commander | Reuters
      http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-navy-idUSKBN16F0VP

      A U.S. Navy ship changed course toward Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, a guard commander was quoted as saying on Wednesday while issuing a warning.

      A U.S. official told Reuters on Monday that multiple fast-attack vessels from the Revolutionary Guard had come within 600 yards (550 meters) of the USNS Invincible, a tracking ship, forcing it to change direction.

      But guard commander Mehdi Hashemi said the incident, the first of note between the countries’ navies in those waters since January, was the fault of the U.S. ship, telling the Fars news agency: “The unprofessional actions of the Americans can have irreversible consequences,

  • U.S. Navy ship fired warning shots at Iranian vessels | Reuters
    http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-defense-idUSKBN14T1AX

    A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels near the Strait of Hormuz after they closed in at high speed and disregarded repeated requests to slow down, U.S. officials said on Monday.

    The incident, which occurred on Sunday and was first reported by Reuters, comes as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on Jan. 20. In September, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harassed the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be “shot out of the water.
    […]
    The one official added that the warning shots fired on Sunday were just one of seven interactions the Mahan had with Iranian vessels over the weekend, but the others were judged to be safe.

  • NAVY SAYS IRANIAN BOATS HARASSED US SHIP IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ — News from The Associated Press
    http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_UNITED_STATES_NAVY_IRAN

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McSC5LP15Gk

    Four Iranian small boats harassed a U.S. Navy warship near the Persian Gulf, but no missiles were fired, the chief of naval operations said Wednesday.
    […]
    A U.S. defense official said the Iranian boats approached the Nitze at high speed on Wednesday, in an unsafe and unprofessional manner. The destroyer fired ten flares in the direction of the Iranian boats and sounded the ship’s whistle several times in an effort to warn the boats away, the official said. The Nitze also tried to communicate with the Iranians over the radio, and also changed course to avoid the vessels.

    The official said two boats ignored the warnings and continued to speed toward the Nitze until they were within 300 yards of the U.S. ship.

    The USS Nitze was in international waters in the Strait of Hormuz with the USS Mason, also a guided missile destroyer. The official wasn’t authorized to discuss the incident publicly so spoke anonymously.

  • Deux navires de la marine américaine appréhendés par l’Iran
    http://www.lemonde.fr/proche-orient/article/2016/01/12/deux-navires-de-la-marine-americaine-apprehendes-par-l-iran_4846171_3218.htm


    Cette photo fournie par l’armée américaine montre un bateau similaire à ceux appréhendés par l’armée iranienne dans le Golfe persique.
    ZANE ECKLUN / AFP

    Deux bateaux légers de la marine américaine, avec à leur bord 10 marins, ont dérivé dans les eaux territoriales iraniennes et ont été appréhendés par Téhéran, mardi 12 janvier.

    Les Etats-Unis ont obtenu de l’Iran l’assurance que les marins étaient « en sécurité » et pourraient « rapidement » poursuivre leur voyage, a indiqué le porte-parole de la Maison Blanche.

    Selon un autre responsable américain, le secrétaire d’Etat John Kerry a été en contact téléphonique avec son homologue iranien Mohammad Javad Zarif sitôt qu’il a eu vent de l’incident pour tenter de trouver une issue. Les deux diplomates ont noué, au fil des longues négociations sur le nucléaire, des relations personnelles malgré l’interruption, il y a 35 ans, des relations diplomatiques entre leurs deux pays.

    Le commandement américain a perdu le contact avec les deux bateaux alors que ces derniers effectuaient une patrouille, de routine selon Washington, entre le Koweït et Bahreïn. Aucune explication n’a été fournie sur les raisons pour lesquelles les navires se sont retrouvés dans les eaux iraniennes. Un responsable américain, toujours sous couvert d’anonymat, a évoqué l’hypothèse d’une panne touchant l’un des deux navires, les faisant dériver tous deux vers l’île iranienne de Farsi, au milieu du Golfe persique.

    • Vu la nature des bateaux retenus (Riverine Command Boat) et le profil particulièrement bas des réactions états-uniennes, il est difficile de ne pas penser immédiatement à une infiltration ou une covert action

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CB90-class_fast_assault_craft

      Autre vue sur Pinterest

      L’image fournie au Monde par la marine états-unienne est ainsi légendée


      http://www.navy.mil/view_image.asp?id=126094

      ARABIAN SEA (June 12, 2012) A riverine command boat from Riverine Detachment 23 operates with the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21), not pictured, during a maritime air support operations center exercise. New York is part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group with the embarked 24th Expeditionary Unit. New York is deployed in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility.
      (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Zane Ecklund/Released)

    • US aircraft carrier acted provocatively after Iran arrested sailors: IRGC | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR
      https://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2016/Jan-13/331642-us-aircraft-carrier-acted-provocatively-after-iran-arrested-sai

      A U.S. aircraft carrier acted “provocatively and unprofessionally” for 40 minutes by carrying out maneuvers in the Gulf after Iran arrested 10 American sailors, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Naval commander, Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, said on state television Wednesday.

      Separately, a spokesman for the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said the U.S. sailors were being interrogated, according to the Tasnim news agency.

    • Iran releases US marines
      http://www.irna.ir/en/News/81919101

      Tehran, Jan 13, IRNA – Iran has released the US marines who had crossed into Iranian terrorial waters.

      According to a statement by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, the 10 sailors have been taken to international waters and freed there.

      et sans doute pas (pas encore ?) le navire de commandement, rempli d’outils de communication comme le montrent ses très nombreuses antennes…

    • Une heure plus tard, le communiqué complet (qui ne parle toujours pas des bateaux)

      US marines entered unintentionally, released after apology : IRGC
      http://www.irna.ir/en/News/81919286

      Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Public Relations Department said in a statement on Wednesday that the US sailors in custody of Iran have been released in the international waters.

      The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman and the French Navy’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier were present in the region when the sailors were detained and the US aircraft carrier had some nervous but passive air and naval reactions which were controlled powerfully and calm returned to the region, the statement added.

      The US sailors had both light and half-heavy weapons with themselves, when arrested, it said.

      The statement noted that US political officials in their repeated contacts with Iranian officials called the action as unintentional and called for the release of the marines.

      The US marines were detained and questioned about their presence in Iran’s territorial waters in the IRGC naval base in the region, it said.

      IRGC statement underlined that after technical and operational investigations of the case and in coordination with political and national security decision makers, the marines were released.

      IRGC reiterated that the marines were released because they had entered Iran’s territorial waters unintentionally and they have apologized for their illegal action.

      Americans guaranteed not to repeat such mistakes again, the statement said.

      IRGC underlined that Iran’s navy is ready to powerfully make any sacrifice in defense of Iran’s sea borders in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz.

      The US Navy boats entered Iranian territorial waters due to a broken navigation system.

      IRGC Public Relations Department, in a statement, said that the US navy boats were stopped Tuesday at 4:30 PM (local time) when they entered Iranian territorial waters near Farsi Island in the middle of the Persian Gulf.

      IRGC declared that the US navy boats entered Iranian territorial waters illegally.

    • Anxious phone calls, tense moments before Iran’s Supreme Leader okayed U.S. sailors’ release | Reuters
      http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-iran-boats-diplomacy-idUSKCN0US02E20160114

      The drama in the Gulf, which the U.S. government had initially hoped to keep under wraps, became public knowledge just hours before President Barack Obama was due to give his annual State of the Union address in Congress.

      Kerry learned of the detention of the sailors in their two small craft at 12:30 p.m. EST (1730 GMT), as he and Defense Secretary Ash Carter met with their Filipino counterparts on the State Department’s eighth floor.

      Kerry almost immediately excused himself and went to his seventh floor office. As it happened, he already had a call scheduled with Zarif at about 12.45 EST.

      Appealing for the sailors’ quick release, Kerry told Zarif: “We can make this into what will be a good story for both of us,” according to a senior State Department official. He repeated that message in follow-up calls, the official said.

      Looming large was the nuclear deal, which both men have invested so much in and striven to protect. In Washington, the deal has come under sustained attack from majority Republicans in Congress who have accused Obama of weakness and say the Iranians are not to be trusted.

      In Tehran, the stakes were no less high. Formal implementation of the nuclear deal is expected to begin within days, giving Iran billions of dollars in relief from economic sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear activities.

    • Communication officielle de la marine états-unienne (publiée le 18/01)
      (il est, de nouveau, question d’une dérive inexpliquée et d’une panne de moteur)

      DVIDS - News - US Central Command statement on events surrounding Iranian detainment of 10 US Navy Sailors Jan. 12-13, 2016
      https://www.dvidshub.net/news/186483/us-central-command-statement-events-surrounding-iranian-detainment-10-us-n

      The two RCBs were scheduled to conduct an underway refueling with the USCGC Monomoy in international waters at approximately 2 p.m. (GMT). At approximately 2:10 p.m. (GMT) NAVCENT received a report that the RCBs were being queried by Iranians. At approximately 2:29 p.m. (GMT) NAVCENT was advised of degraded communications with the RCBs. At 2:45 p.m. (GMT) NAVCENT was notified of a total loss of communications with the RCBs. Immediately, NAVCENT initiated an intensive search and rescue operation using both air and naval assets including aircraft from USS Harry S. Truman and the U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Coast Guard, U.K. Royal Navy and U.S. Navy surface vessels.

      At the time of the incident, two carrier strike groups were operating nearby. USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group was 45 miles southeast of Farsi Island and Charles de Gaulle carrier strike group was 40 miles north of Farsi Island. NAVCENT attempted to contact Iranian military units operating near Farsi Island by broadcasting information regarding their search and rescue effort over marine radio, and separately notified Iranian coast guard units via telephone about the search for their personnel. At 6:15 p.m. (GMT), U.S. Navy cruiser USS Anzio received a communication from the Iranians that the RCB Sailors were in Iranian custody and were “safe and healthy.”

      NAVCENT’s initial operational reports showed that while in transit from Kuwait to Bahrain the RCBs deviated from their planned course on their way to the refueling. The command investigation will determine what caused the change in course and why the RCBs entered into Iranian territorial waters in the vicinity of Farsi Island.

      At some point one RCB had indications of a mechanical issue in a diesel engine which caused the crews to stop the RCBs and begin troubleshooting. As the RCBs travel together, the second RCB also stopped. This stop occurred in Iranian territorial waters, although it’s not clear the crew was aware of their exact location. While the RCBs were stopped and the crew was attempting to evaluate the mechanical issue, Iranian boats approached the vessels.
      […]
      A post-recovery inventory of the boats found that all weapons, ammunition and communication gear are accounted for minus two SIM cards that appear to have been removed from two handheld satellite phones.

  • Gulf Nations Aim to Secure Water, Food Supply - WSJ.com
    http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303684004577508051266269904.html?mod=ITP_pageone_3

    Iran’s threat to close the Strait of Hormuz has triggered alarm about the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf, but for the arid, oil-rich countries in the region it poses another uncomfortable question: For how long can they feed their people if the strategic waterway is blocked?


    #eau #stratégie #iran

  • Syrian_MAJOR
    THE PLAN: http://hacktivist.me/the_plan.html #Syria

    English
    This is merely my personal view, based upon several recent events.
    Some of them have been ignored, while others have received significant attention.
    What is “the plan”?

    The plan’s objective requires eliminating one enemy directly, such that the rest will fall as a matter of course. In this way, the most is achieved at the lowest possible military cost.
    The explanation may be a bit boring, but I have to put all points first, then connect them, so you can understand the plan clearly.
    United States:

    The Unites States (and it’s allies) are very upset from the Iranian nuclear project, in addition to supporting Assad’s regime with artillery and weapons for killing protesters in Syria, and the management and arming Hizbullah in Lebanon, which have become a concern to Israel (in which is the first U.S ally)... After the U.S experience in Iraq (which is considered as a failure on the military, and the political aspects), thus it’s not in the U.S benefit to repeat the Iraqi mistake.
    Arabian Gulf:

    Iran did some actions, that annoyed it’s neighbors in the Arabian Gulf, starting from moving the Shiite community in Iraq and the Gulf (especially Bahrain) to stir up sedition, and the seizure of three islands of the UAE, and control the Strait of Hormuz (which is the gateway of the oil).
    Israel:

    As I mentioned earlier, Israel is the first ally of the United States (and most European countries) ... Therefore, the weapons supply from Iran to Hezbollah in Lebanon via Syria, and the threats that Iran fired constantly of hitting Israel and erasing it from existence, made Iran a source of concern for Israel and its allies.
    Executing the plan:

    Israel has a missile shield, but the estimated time to intercept a sophisticated missile from Iran is longer than it should. Therefore Israel bought three German-made submarines, capable of carrying ballistic missiles (which already did) and stationed one of these submarines in the Red Sea.
    The United States sent American warship with a huge aircraft carriers, and stationed close to the Strait of Hormuz... Thus Israel has ruled out Iranian missile attack on its territory.
    At a specific time, Israel will act provocatively to Iran (and most likely will hit one of Iran’s nuclear facilities, or a strike on a military base Syrian or Iranian in Syria), and the reaction would be self-evident for Iran to strike back the U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf (being the nearest) and closes of the Strait of Hormuz.
    The U.S. forces would intervene immediately in the Red Sea to re-open the Straits, and execute an air/navy raid (with the aid of Israeli submarines).
    It would be disastrous... Yes... But in this way the military capabilities of Iran will be destroyd. Thus, Israel can crush Hezbollah without Iranian aid through Syria.
    As for Syria, ... After the cessation of Iranian support and Hezbollah, Assad’s regime will Inevitably fall when his ammunition depleted, and no longer has a close ally.
    Russia and China:

    Russia is trying hard to accomplish the military base in Tartous/Syria in order to intercept the missile shield, but Russia will be late in responding because of the distance and the quick implementation of the paln. As far as we know, there are no Russian or Chinese military bases in Iran, meaning that either Russia or China will have to cross Iran by air, to reach the red sea (Persian gulf). This explains the large quantities of arms and ammunition shipped to Syria and stored Tartous. (Here’s the misconception that Russia supported the Syrian regime with arms only, while the weapons are for the base in Tartous)
    Most of the Iranian tech are originally from north Korea, which can be explained as the Russian/Iranian military relations are not that good.
    Perhaps Russia would not intervene in an attack on Iran, and only punctuated and denunciation ... But as I mentioned earlier that I relied on news and events only.