via the BBC (video/audio link in the article).
via the BBC (video/audio link in the article).
US doubts over Iran boat 'threat'
BBC News, Thursday, 10 January 2008, 20:49 GMT
Iran has described the incident as an "ordinary occurrence"
---An alleged threat to blow up US warships "may not have come" from Iranian speedboats involved in a recent stand-off, the BBC has learned.
The voice on a Pentagon tape could instead have come from another ship in the area or a transmitter on land, senior US Navy sources told the BBC.
On a side note, a Brit working with the Omani navy/coastguard once told me that smugglers use swarming tactics too, overwhelming local patrols by making simultaneous runs with dozens of high speed boats (I'm not suggesting any connection whatsoever--just an interesting Straits of Hormuz tidbit!)
International Security, Summer 08:
Closing Time: Assessing the Iranian Threat to the Strait of Hormuz
....could Iran close the Strait of Hormuz? What might provoke Iran to take an action so contrary to its own economic interests? Does Iran possess the military assets needed to engage in a campaign in the strait, and what might such a campaign look like? Perhaps more important, what would the U.S. military have to do to defend the strait in the event of Iranian interference there? What would be the likely cost, length, and outcome of such efforts?
While it would "suck" in the short term, one would hope the US would drag their feet just a little in responding in order to get some "quid pro quo" from those nations which benefit from the US as "globo-cop" when it comes to a free supply of middle east oil.
WINEP, 24 Sep 08: Iran's Asymmetric Naval Warfare
Complete 40-page report at the link.This study sheds light on Iran’s naval intentions and capabilities by exploring the military geography of the Persian Gulf and Caspian regions, reviewing the historical evolution of Iran’s approach to asymmetric warfare, assessing its naval forces, and evaluating its plans for a possible war with the United States. The study ends with a quick overview of several possible scenarios.
Since the end of the Iran-Iraq War, Iran has invested substantially in developing its navy (particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy) along unconventional lines. The most important developments in this regard include the deployment of mobile coastal missile batteries, modern anti-ship missiles mounted on fast-attack craft, semi-submersibles, midget submarines, modern naval mines, unmanned aerial vehicles (possibly including “kamikaze” attack versions), and improved command, control, communications, and intelligence.
This study concludes that despite Iran’s overall defensive posture in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, it could take preemptive action in response to a perceived threat of imminent attack. And in the event of a U.S. attack, the scale of Iran’s response would likely be proportional to the scale of the damage inflicted on Iranian assets.
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