U.S. Preps Iran Sanctions Over Missiles

Western media reported on Tuesday that the IRGC fired rockets near the USA aircraft-carrier Harry S. Truman as it was about to enter the Persian Gulf on Saturday.

Iran’s recent tests of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles have been determined to be a violation of a UN Security Council resolution.

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran on Thursday denied US accusations of launching a provocative rocket test last week near Western warships in the Strait of Hormuz, dismissing the claim as “psychological warfare” against the Islamic Republic.

So far, there’s been no official comment on the latest missile launch from Iran, but state-run news agency Fars said the incident was planned and all vessels in the area were warned ahead of time. “In February 1991, the U.S. Navy lost command of the northern Arabian Gulf to more than 1,300 mines that had been sown by Iraqi forces virtually under the “noses” of multinational coalition naval forces constrained by their rules of engagement”, wrote naval warfare guru Scott Truver, director of national security programs at Gryphon Technologies, in a Naval War College paper.

Sharif accused the United States of lying about the incident.

According to CENTCOM, the handful of IRGC vessels fired unguided rockets-which are not especially threatening to a vessel the size of USS Harry S. Truman in small numbers. There is also a two-mile buffer zone on either side of the sea lane.

A United States military official claimed that while the Iranians did not appear to be targeting any specific ships with the exercise, their actions were “unnecessarily provocative and unsafe”. It likes to flex its muscles there every once in awhile, U.S. Navy officials say.

“U.S. Navy forces are committed to ensuring the safe and free navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and throughout the region by maintaining a strong presence”, added Commander Kevin Stephens, a spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet. The development seems to indicate that the historic arrangement between the US and Iran appears to be on the right track.

Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship and later released it in May after its forces had earlier surrounded a U.S.-flagged cargo ship transiting the strait.

Iran has bridled under economic sanctions imposed by the US and other nations due to its nuclear ambitions, although both sides struck a deal in October to delay them.

Saturday’s rocket fire should be seen as part of a pattern by Iran since its naval loss in 1988, said Eugene Gholz, an associate professor at the University of Texas who is an expert on the use of military power in the Strait of Hormuz.