If Iran closed the Straight of Hormuz?

[whitehall]

What would the US do if Iran closed off oil supplies from the Gulf? Strangely enough the president didn't respond to the question even though it is his responsibility. Neither did the Secretary of State. The administration left it to the Pentagon to respons with "yada yada not tolerate yada yada" but the Pentagon doesn't get to say what the US will or will not tolerate. A female Lt. spokesperson for the 5th fleet claimed "the US is ready to counter malevolent actions". Well duh. My guess is that Barry and the radical greenies would like nothing better than closing off oil to the US.

 

[waltky]

Granny says blow `em outta the water...

Iran-US stand-off over Strait of Hormuz worsens
Thursday 29th December, 2011 - The stand-off between the US and Iran over access to the strategic Strait of Hormuz shipping channel worsened Thursday with Tehran declaring that any threat would be "responded by threat".

The response came after the US 5th Fleet said that Iran's threat to block the 34-mile wide strip of water - separating Oman and Iran - was unacceptable. The US reaction Wednesday was in response to Iran's vice president warning that the country could block the strait if sanctions are imposed on its exports of crude oil. France, Britain and Germany have proposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme and the US has also threatened to tighten unilateral sanctions. Senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami said Thursday that the US was not in a position to tell Tehran "what to do in the Strait of Hormuz", state television reported.

Iran's English-language Press TV quoted Salami as saying: "Any threat will be responded by threat ... We will not relinquish our strategic moves if Iran's vital interests are undermined by any means." The official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying: "Americans are not in a position whether to allow Iran to close off the Strait of Hormuz." Cmdr. Amy Derrick Frost, spokesperson of the US Navy 5th Fleet, which is based in Bahrain, told reporters Wednesday: "Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations; any disruption will not be tolerated."

Iran's navy chief Habibollah Sayyari has told Press TV that "closing the Strait of Hormuz for Iran's armed forces is really easy ... or as Iranians say it will be easier than drinking a glass of water." "But right now, we don't need to shut it as we have the Sea of Oman under control and we can control the transit," said Sayyari. Iran is holding a 10-day military exercise near the strait. The exercises began Saturday and involve submarines, missile drills, torpedoes and drones In contrast, the US Fifth Fleet consists of 20-plus ships supported by combat aircraft, with 15,000 people on board.

The Strait of Hormuz connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. At its narrowest point, it is 21 miles across. In 2009, 15 million barrels passed through the strait every day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The bulk of the oil exported through the Strait of Hormuz travels to Asia, the United States and Western Europe. About three-quarters of Japan's oil imports and about 50 percent of China's pass through this strait.

Source

 

[Nic_Driver]

Granny says blow `em outta the water...

Iran-US stand-off over Strait of Hormuz worsens
Thursday 29th December, 2011 - The stand-off between the US and Iran over access to the strategic Strait of Hormuz shipping channel worsened Thursday with Tehran declaring that any threat would be "responded by threat".

The response came after the US 5th Fleet said that Iran's threat to block the 34-mile wide strip of water - separating Oman and Iran - was unacceptable. The US reaction Wednesday was in response to Iran's vice president warning that the country could block the strait if sanctions are imposed on its exports of crude oil. France, Britain and Germany have proposed sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme and the US has also threatened to tighten unilateral sanctions. Senior Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Hossein Salami said Thursday that the US was not in a position to tell Tehran "what to do in the Strait of Hormuz", state television reported.

Iran's English-language Press TV quoted Salami as saying: "Any threat will be responded by threat ... We will not relinquish our strategic moves if Iran's vital interests are undermined by any means." The official IRNA news agency quoted him as saying: "Americans are not in a position whether to allow Iran to close off the Strait of Hormuz." Cmdr. Amy Derrick Frost, spokesperson of the US Navy 5th Fleet, which is based in Bahrain, told reporters Wednesday: "Anyone who threatens to disrupt freedom of navigation in an international strait is clearly outside the community of nations; any disruption will not be tolerated."

Iran's navy chief Habibollah Sayyari has told Press TV that "closing the Strait of Hormuz for Iran's armed forces is really easy ... or as Iranians say it will be easier than drinking a glass of water." "But right now, we don't need to shut it as we have the Sea of Oman under control and we can control the transit," said Sayyari. Iran is holding a 10-day military exercise near the strait. The exercises began Saturday and involve submarines, missile drills, torpedoes and drones In contrast, the US Fifth Fleet consists of 20-plus ships supported by combat aircraft, with 15,000 people on board.

The Strait of Hormuz connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea. At its narrowest point, it is 21 miles across. In 2009, 15 million barrels passed through the strait every day, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The bulk of the oil exported through the Strait of Hormuz travels to Asia, the United States and Western Europe. About three-quarters of Japan's oil imports and about 50 percent of China's pass through this strait.

Source

As I understand it, Iran's navy is not the worry, it's the surface missiles to potentially target shipping. Obama moved enough force into the region that this is no longer a concern and at the first sign of trouble there will be retaliatory strikes against land based missile battalions. Obama has already shown his keen warmongering side (which I oppose) so I have no fear that today, Iran is doing anything other than bluster.

 

[WillowTree]

What would the US do if Iran closed off oil supplies from the Gulf? Strangely enough the president didn't respond to the question even though it is his responsibility. Neither did the Secretary of State. The administration left it to the Pentagon to respons with "yada yada not tolerate yada yada" but the Pentagon doesn't get to say what the US will or will not tolerate. A female Lt. spokesperson for the 5th fleet claimed "the US is ready to counter malevolent actions". Well duh. My guess is that Barry and the radical greenies would like nothing better than closing off oil to the US.

Hush dammit, obie straight iron is on the 6th hole. wtf is the matter with you?

 

[konradv]

So, you think Obama should broadcast the plan of attack? Do you think he's a fool? People like you would just whip around and accuse him of aiding the enemy. Enjoy your vacation, Mr. President. The Navy has things well in hand. Iran knows what the stakes are, if they do anything they're going to get blasted.

 

[blastoff]

If Iran closed them they would shortly be wondering what happened to their air and naval forces and other military assets.

Keep in mind these are the same military clowns who spent eight years fighting the forces of Saddam Hussein...to a friggin' draw.

 

[merrill]

What would the US do if Iran closed off oil supplies from the Gulf? Strangely enough the president didn't respond to the question even though it is his responsibility. Neither did the Secretary of State. The administration left it to the Pentagon to respons with "yada yada not tolerate yada yada" but the Pentagon doesn't get to say what the US will or will not tolerate. A female Lt. spokesperson for the 5th fleet claimed "the US is ready to counter malevolent actions". Well duh. My guess is that Barry and the radical greenies would like nothing better than closing off oil to the US.

Let them close it. Iran will not keep it closed for very long. The fear mongers are out in force.

Bring the USA military home to their families.

 

[skipper]

Why should the Administration tip it's hand about possible responses? The repubs would be coming out woodwork calling it irresponsible. Let Iran ponder the prospects of it being anywhere between more sanctions to being nuked into a 20,000 year global no-go zone.

 

[Inthemiddle]

Iran repeats this same threat every few months. It's Persian for "Hey, remember me?!" That's about it. They do it more for domestic reasons than anything else, it seems.

 

[merrill]

Why should the Administration tip it's hand about possible responses? The repubs would be coming out woodwork calling it irresponsible. Let Iran ponder the prospects of it being anywhere between more sanctions to being nuked into a 20,000 year global no-go zone.

Iran will never be nuked by anyone and Iran cannot nuke anyone.

The USA and Israel have their eyes on Iran oil and natural gas . No nukes in sight.

 

[M14 Shooter]

A blockade is an act of war. As such, it opens the door for a military response.

The correct response to any such closure is the removal of the assets that affect said closure. This will require a number of repeated air/missile strikes combined with some limited number of boots on the ground, certainly to include SF personell and, likely, some small-unit raids.

Few can legitimately oppose such action - the only real question is if the necessary people will support it and then act on it.

 

[Mr. H.]

We certainly wouldn't draw down the SPR.
That's reserved for controlling gasoline prices and garnering votes.

 

[konradv]

A blockade is an act of war. As such, it opens the door for a military response.

The correct response to any such closure is the removal of the assets that affect said closure. This will require a number of repeated air/missile strikes combined with some limited number of boots on the ground, certainly to include SF personell and, likely, some small-unit raids.

Few can legitimately oppose such action - the only real question is if the necessary people will support it and then act on it.

Would the Navy have said what they said, if the the intention to "support and act" wasn't already in place?

 

[Nic_Driver]

A blockade is an act of war. As such, it opens the door for a military response.

The correct response to any such closure is the removal of the assets that affect said closure. This will require a number of repeated air/missile strikes combined with some limited number of boots on the ground, certainly to include SF personell and, likely, some small-unit raids.

Few can legitimately oppose such action - the only real question is if the necessary people will support it and then act on it.

I agree with what you've aid here M-14, a blockade is an act of war and deserves a swift and powerful response.

I disagree with the boots on the gound concept but I'm sure they will be there anyway.

 

[M14 Shooter]

A blockade is an act of war. As such, it opens the door for a military response.

The correct response to any such closure is the removal of the assets that affect said closure. This will require a number of repeated air/missile strikes combined with some limited number of boots on the ground, certainly to include SF personell and, likely, some small-unit raids.

Few can legitimately oppose such action - the only real question is if the necessary people will support it and then act on it.

Would the Navy have said what they said, if the the intention to "support and act" wasn't already in place?

Possibly. The military services always stand ready to do what they might be ordered to do.

 

[Inthemiddle]

A blockade is an act of war.

Against whom?

 

[Nic_Driver]

A blockade is an act of war.

Against whom?

The very reason the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.

It's an aggressive act against the world and should be treated as such.

I’m in favor of negotiations to resolve the impasse but if the straight is closed off, I will support its reopening if even by force.

 

[JoeB131]

If Iran closed them they would shortly be wondering what happened to their air and naval forces and other military assets.

Keep in mind these are the same military clowns who spent eight years fighting the forces of Saddam Hussein...to a friggin' draw.

Which tells me they have the stomach for a long war and we don't.

We could use our aircraft and navel power to sweep the gulf of Iran's Navy, but the Iranians can still use mines or Surface to Ship missiles to take out passing tankers.

the real question is, who has more to lose here? Our economy is barely chugging along, and we are going to set it back with a spike in oil prices?

Maybe we should let Israel fight it's own damn war for a change.

 

[M14 Shooter]

If Iran closed them they would shortly be wondering what happened to their air and naval forces and other military assets.

Keep in mind these are the same military clowns who spent eight years fighting the forces of Saddam Hussein...to a friggin' draw.

Which tells me they have the stomach for a long war and we don't.

We could use our aircraft and navel power to sweep the gulf of Iran's Navy, but the Iranians can still use mines or Surface to Ship missiles to take out passing tankers.

All the belly-buttons in the world will have no effect here.

As I said- action would need to be taken to eliminate all the assets necessary to affect the blockade. That includes their minelyaing and SSM sites.

The real question is, who has more to lose here?

A blockade of the straits carries a substiantial probability of irrepiarable harm to the economy of the world, including the US. Not taking immediate effective action to protect this particular line of communication is not an option.

Maybe we should let Israel fight it's own damn war for a change.

Absurd thought, that this is just Israel's fight.

 

[JoeB131]

If Iran closed them they would shortly be wondering what happened to their air and naval forces and other military assets.

Keep in mind these are the same military clowns who spent eight years fighting the forces of Saddam Hussein...to a friggin' draw.

Which tells me they have the stomach for a long war and we don't.

We could use our aircraft and navel power to sweep the gulf of Iran's Navy, but the Iranians can still use mines or Surface to Ship missiles to take out passing tankers.

All the belly-buttons in the world will have no effect here.

As I said- action would need to be taken to eliminate all the assets necessary to affect the blockade. That includes their minelyaing and SSM sites.

The real question is, who has more to lose here?

A blockade of the straits carries a substiantial probability of irrepiarable harm to the economy of the world, including the US. Not taking immediate effective action to protect this particular line of communication is not an option.

Maybe we should let Israel fight it's own damn war for a change.

Absurd thought, that this is just Israel's fight.

Ha ha, I caught the spelling error there after I made it..

Okay, guy, all good and stuff, but honestly, I remember the last few times we were told a conflict was going to be a cakewalk, and it wasn't.

The only reason this is a fight at all is because Israel doesn't want Iran to have a nuke, even though Israel already has something like 150 of them and could glass Iran if they really had to.

I think it's kind of silly for us to tell Iran they can't have a nuke when we have them, as do The Russians, Israelis, Chinese, Pakistanis, Indians, French and British. So we are threatening blockades against them and they are threatening one against us.

Unless we are going to invade Iran and occupy its coast, they are going to be able to reek havok in the shipping lanes if they want to. So before we do this, we'd better think long and hard about whether we want to wreck our economy because Israel needs to feel safer.