Iran has the ability to block the Strait of Hormuz “for a period of time,” and the U.S. would take action to reopen it, Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Martin Dempsey said.
“They’ve invested in capabilities that could, in fact, for a period of time block the Strait of Hormuz,” Dempsey said in an interview aired yesterday on the CBS “Face the Nation” program. “We’ve invested in capabilities to ensure that if that happens, we can defeat that.”
Should Iran try to close Hormuz, the U.S. “would take action and reopen” the waterway, said Dempsey, President Barack Obama’s top military adviser.
Blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping lane linking the Gulf of Oman with the Persian Gulf, would constitute a “red line” for the U.S., as would Iranian efforts to build a nuclear weapon, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said on the same program.
The U.S. tightened economic sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program on Dec. 31, and the European Union is weighing a ban later this month on purchases of Iranian crude.
Iranian Threat
Iran threatened last month to shut the Strait of Hormuz, a transit point for a fifth of oil traded worldwide, if sanctions are imposed on its crude exports. Iran held 10 days of naval maneuvers east of the strait ending Jan. 3. The country plans even bigger military maneuvers in the area next month, the state-run Fars news agency reported on Jan. 5.
U.S. sanctions imposed last year seek to cut off dealings with Iran’s banking system, making it difficult for consumers to buy the country’s oil.
Iran has also started to enrich uranium at its Fordo production facility, according to the official Kayhan newspaper.
The existence of the Fordo plant, built into the side of a mountain near the Muslim holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, was disclosed in September 2009, heightening concern among the U.S. and its allies who say Iran’s activities may be a cover for the development of atomic weapons. The Persian Gulf country says it needs nuclear technology to secure energy for its growing population.
Pressure on Iran
Continued pressure, rather than threats of air strikes, is the best way to forestall Iran from developing nuclear weapons, Panetta said.
While the U.S. shouldn’t “take any option off the table,“ Panetta said “the responsible thing to do right now is to keep putting diplomatic and economic pressure on them to force them to do the right thing, and to make sure that they do not make the decision to proceed with the development of a nuclear weapon.”
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Jan. 1 on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he would use air strikes against Iran unless the country dismantled its nuclear program or allowed inspectors to verify that the work isn’t aimed at making a weapon.
Dempsey suggested that curbing Iran’s nuclear work by bombing its facilities would be difficult.
“I’d rather not discuss the degree of difficulty and in any way encourage them to read anything into that,” Dempsey said. “My responsibility is to encourage the right degree of planning, to understand the risks associated with any kind of military option.”
Israeli Strike
Should Israel decide to undertake a unilateral military strike against Iran, the U.S. priority would be protecting American troops in the region, Panetta said.
Dempsey and Panetta sought on CBS to provide assurances that the new U.S. military strategy, announced last week, won’t limit the U.S. ability to stop aggressors.
“What we’re looking to do here is not constrain ourselves to a two-war construct, but rather build a force that has the kind of agility” needed to adapt to any scenario, Dempsey said. Previous U.S. war planning called for preparing to fight two conventional wars simultaneously.
The plan was driven by the need to cut almost $490 billion from projected Pentagon spending through 2021, including about $261 billion through 2017. Panetta said last week the details won’t be released until the Pentagon presents its 2013 budget request to Congress by early February.
12 comments:
Iran has no interest in going to war. This is saber rattling to make the capital look powerful and menacing, as right now they are very unpopular with their citizens. Focusing on a foreign enemy is a common strategy for stirring up a population and unifying them behind their government.
From this article you can clearly see the United States attempt to use strategic diplomatic negotiations rather than resorting to violence. By putting economic sanctions on oil, the U.N would put stress on the Iranian economy and possibly hurt the funding for Iran's nuclear program, but Iran fought back threatening to close a crucial waterway. Closing the Strait of Hormuz would be detrimental to the world because gas prices would increase as the supply decreases, causing people to be even more fearful in this recession. We must continue to prevent Iran from gaining the power of nuclear weapons because it would have tragic results as Iran has already threatened to bomb Israel.
Waverly Roeger 2
I haven't figured out how to change my name on my account or create a new account without making a completely new email. I'm assuming that there is a comment on this article from an unknown person, and it's probably mine. I mentioned the element of surprise at the end but I don't really remember everything I said. I just know that I don't want to have to redo my comment since I couldn't remake my lovely original. If you don't have an unknown user's comment, then my computer is really messed up since I know I hit publish at least once. Please count the comment if you have it since I seriously can't figure out how to do this and the rest of this week I'm really busy with a gymnastics meet and I'll have absolutely no access to a computer or internet. I hope it all works out; just know that it's within your POWER. Thank you.
If Iran closes the Straight of Hormuz, already shaky relations with America will further deteriorate. Iranians feel that their private sufferings from the closing of the Strait, will be worth the distress due to the equal or worse sufferings by other countries around the world. This position fails to recognize the resulting military response and the toll that would be placed on Iran economically, politically, and socially. The closing of the Strait must be avoided in order to preserve the already shaky relationship and prevent further nuclear threats.
(Shannon Duggan 6th)
If Iran closes the Straight of Hormuz, already shaky relations with America will further deteriorate. Iranians feel that their private sufferings from the closing of the Strait, will be worth the distress due to the equal or worse sufferings by other countries around the world. This position fails to recognize the resulting military response and the toll that would be placed on Iran economically, politically, and socially. The closing of the Strait must be avoided in order to preserve the already shaky relationship and prevent further nuclear threats.
(Shannon Duggan 6th)
It's hard to guess if this article was serious or more like a joke but here's whats really happening:
First of all, kayhan newspaper?
I think there are a lot more newspaper in the world that should be considered more credible than this one...
Media is controlled 100% by the government in Iran and anything written in the newspaper has a specific agenda. Media is how Islamic Republic gained power in Iran in the first place.
If anything against the government is written in any newspaper, it will face serious consequences. I cannot go into more details.
2nd: sanctions have shown not to have any kind of affect on iran. Iran has oil so they are economicly full field. Iran WILL continue its Nuclear program and i really dont think there is anything that can stop it. I dont think anyone has any idea whether or not it is for nuclear weapons or its just for the country's growing need of energy.
Iran and US will never go into a war and that is very obvious for several reasons.
Iran, in reality IS the actual owner of the straight of Hormoz and I dont think any country can ever gain any kind of power in that area.
Iran and US both have certain points and i think they will both need need to compromise in order for anything to get fixed.
Sanctions, Wars, and threats are not the answer.
It seems that the emphasis of the distress presented by Iran is on nuclear development as well as oil availability. Because the United States put economic stress on Iran by making it more difficult for Americans to purchase Iran's oil a horse trading political game began. Iran retaliated by threatening to block the Strait of Hormuz, a primary oil source and strategic shipping lane. Of course, the primary reason that the U.S. implemented this policy was to give Iran less money for nuclear technology. Hence, the main focus of the Iranian distress is due to oil availability and nuclear development.
Closing the Straight of Hormuz would not be good economically for any country involved. The United States and European countries who are already in a recession would be caused more economic problems. By blocking the Straight of Hormuz, Iran would only anger the other petroleum rich countries that use the Straight to export their oil. The Straight is a strategic waterway that 40 percent of the worlds oil passes through. If the Straight of Hormuz were to be closed the United States would have to take stronger action and not just economic sanctions, possibly even military actions.
Closing the Straight of Hormuz would not be good economically for any country involved. The United States and European countries who are already in a recession would be caused more economic problems. By blocking the Straight of Hormuz, Iran would only anger the other petroleum rich countries that use the Straight to export their oil. The Straight is a strategic waterway that 40 percent of the worlds oil passes through. If the Straight of Hormuz were to be closed the United States would have to take stronger action and not just economic sanctions, possibly even military actions.
If Iran were to shut off the Straight of Hormuz from the United States, they would be pushing us into entering war. Allowing the Straight of Hormuz would raise our gas prices to an unacceptable price. Although we still must stop Iran from building any nuclear weapons, so the United States have threatened to put pressure on the Iranian economy. I hope the United States are able to continue putting more pressure on them until they back down and decide to not block the Straight of Hormuz. Otherwise we may be headed to war.
The United States should lead by example, as opposed to imposing sanctions that further damage global stability. America acknowledges that nuclear weapons exist and are extremely dangerous to the world's stability. We already have nukes, but the more nations that get them, the more chance that someone will use them. America, along with many other countries, signed a treaty to limit the spread of these weapons. Iran has not. America may have played favoritism in its deterrent, but not without reason. As any country, America must protect its country, as Iran is trying to do. I understand they want it as a deterrent, just as all countries do. So what is the difference between Iran and these countries? ISLAM. Why should America not fear a country with Non-Democratic Islamic rule? They are not afraid to die. Iran openly admitted thier desire to obliterate Israel (no matter the reasons behind it). Their guiding book, the koran, which has influence over EVERY part of Iran's government says the following -"Slay them wherever you find them, Idolatry is worse than carnage, Fight against them until idolatry is no more and God's religion reigns supreme." (Surah 2:190-) As hypocritical as America may seem, she must do everything in her power to prevent Iranian nuclear capability, even if it means dismantling a portion of her nuclear stockpiles.
Iran's nuclear weapons production must be hindered as much as possible. In an area as volatile as the Middle East, the presence of a nuclear weapon would shift the balance of power in the Arab world and may further destabilize the area, not only giving opportunities to terrorist organizations, but may also lead to open warfare between countries. While Iran may have the resources and ability to temporarily close the Strait of Hormuz, there is no doubt that doing so is not for the best of any country. For the United States and most of the world,Iran's closing the Strait of Hormuz would lead to a supply side shock for oil in an already shaky economy. The United States would then have to retaliate either militarily, leading to increased tensions between the Middle East and the US, or back down to Iran and risk being viewed as weak by the rest of the world. On the Iranian side, closing the Strait of Hormuz would put pressure the US and the West, but the stress put on by UN economic sanctions and almost certain US military retaliation would undoubtedly hurt the country.
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