The US military is considering deploying armed personnel on commercial ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, an unprecedented move aimed at stopping Iran from seizing and harassing civilian vessels, four U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Thursday.
America did not make a move during the so-called “tanker war,” which culminated in the US Navy fighting Iran in a one-day naval battle in 1988 that was the largest since World War II.
While officials have offered few details about the plan, it comes as thousands of Marines and sailors aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bataan and the amphibious assault ship USS Carter Hall are en route to the Persian Gulf. These Marines and sailors could provide the backbone of any armed guard mission in the strait, through which 20% of all the world’s oil passes.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to an AP request for comment on the U.S. proposal.
Four U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the proposal, acknowledged its broad details. The officials stressed that no final decision had been made and that discussions between US military officials and US Gulf allies in the region were ongoing.
Officials said Marines and Navy sailors will provide security only at the request of participating ships.
Bataan and Carter Hall left Norfolk, Va., on July 10 on a mission the Pentagon described as “a response to Iran’s recent attempts to threaten the free flow of commerce in the Strait of Hormuz and its surrounding waters.” The Bataan sailed through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean last week on its way to the Middle East.
The US has already sent A-10 Thunderbolt II warplanes, F-16 and F-35 fighter jets to the region, as well as the destroyer USS Thomas Hudner, due to Iranian actions at sea.
The deployment caught Iran’s attention, and its top diplomat told neighboring countries that the region did not need “foreigners” to provide security. On Wednesday, Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards launched a surprise military exercise on disputed islands in the Persian Gulf, involving swarms of small speedboats, paratroopers and rocket units.
The renewed hostilities come as Iran is enriching uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels after the collapse of its 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. The US has also pursued ships around the world believed to be carrying sanctioned Iranian oil. The oil industry is worried about another seizure by Iran, a ship allegedly carrying Iranian oil is likely stranded off Texas, as no company has yet unloaded it.
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