[size=55:3fnvzp6u][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Iran warns U.S. to keep ship out of Gulf

A senior Iranian Army commander has warned the U.S. Navy not to move an aircraft carrier which left the Persian Gulf during Iran's recent military drills back into the body of water which forms much of Iran's southern border.

According to the Reuters news agency, army chief Ataollah Salehi suggested to the IRNA network on Tuesday that Iran would take unspecified action if the carrier returned to Gulf waters.

The USS John C. Stennis and another U.S. Naval vessel headed out of the Gulf and through the Strait of Hormuz last Tuesday after a visit to Dubai.

"
Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill. I recommend and emphasize to the American carrier not to return to the Persian Gulf,"
Salehi reportedly told IRNA.

"
I advise, recommend and warn them (the Americans) over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once.


The U.S. Naval Forces Central Command would not immediately comment on Salehi's comments, or say whether the timing of the carrier's relocation was in any way linked to Iran's 10-day drills, which ended on Monday.

The U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, based across the Gulf from Iran in Bahrain, had as many as five aircraft carriers in its ranks at the height of the war in Iraq, but that number has reportedly been reduced as the American presence in Iraq dwindled.

The last U.S. combat forces pulled out of Iraq just days before Christmas. Iran's military drills began on Christmas Eve.

Iran's warning comes after more than a week of heightened tension in the Gulf resulting from the Islamic Republic's military drills, and an early warning from the regime that any international effort to sanction Iran's oil exports would be met with the closure of the vital Strait of Hormuz.

About 40 percent of the world's oil supply is shipped through the strait, from the Persian Gulf into the Gulf of Oman and onto the rest of the world.

Iran's hypothetical threat to close the strait with military power drew sharp a rebuke from the United States, with the Fifth Fleet vowing to protect the passage of shipping through the channel.

Various Iranian officials backed away from the threat in the following days as the military drills continued. But tension remains high in the wake of the drills - which saw Iran test fire a number of medium and long-range missiles - over both the security of the vital shipping passage, and Iran's contentious nuclear program.

Iran has been spoiling for a war for some time now, the USA will not allow their fuel source to be disrupted by them and if they needed another reason they have it in the fact that the lunatic in charge of Iran is hell-bent on manufacturing nuclear warheads. Even France is saying this cannot be allowed to carry on. Welcome to the first war of 2012.

God forbid the consequences should Iran be stupid enough to fire one of these things at a US or Nato carrier, enough said !!

Well if the Iranians decided to fire on a US aircraft carrier in international waters I think we can safely say goodbye Iran. It will probably happen sooner or later.

I shall be surprised if a war in the Middle East doesn't erupt at some point this year. That part of the world is looking decidedly dodgy and the balance of power is changing all the time.

So so true itchyfeet. A single Nimitz class carrier has more offensive capability that 95% of the worlds nations! They're capable of waging war on a scale you don't want in your nightmares, let alone on your doorstep. Its not just the carrier but a carrier group. And thats just surface ships, let alone what is under the surface. Then there US airbases all around Iran, the US fleet is not far way, and bases in Diego Garcia etc etc. Iran should be careful. Tweaking a tiger's tail is not good policy when all you have is a walking stick.

Netsniperthefirst wrote:

So so true itchyfeet. A single Nimitz class carrier has more offensive capability that 95% of the worlds nations! They're capable of waging war on a scale you don't want in your nightmares, let alone on your doorstep. Its not just the carrier but a carrier group. And thats just surface ships, let alone what is under the surface. Then there US airbases all around Iran, the US fleet is not far way, and bases in Diego Garcia etc etc. Iran should be careful. Tweaking a tiger's tail is not good policy when all you have is a walking stick.

I love the walking stick. But if the Iranians do fire something at a US ship then the Russians and the Chinese could not complain. Will be interesting to see what happens when the ship returns. Can anyone really see the Yanks staying away.

Sounds like we had better get ready to recieve 500,000 iranian war refugees / assylum seekers. Now I wonder, who shall we kick out first to make room for them.

I dare Ahmadinejad to have a pop at a US carrier or to even consider blocking the world oil supply. There are some things you just do not do and this is one of them. He might of built up his forces and improved his military capability but is still highly inferior. The US is looking for an excuse, do not give them one.

Another big fuel rise on the way, thanks to the stupid Americans who want to control the world with their big bullying tactics..... the countries on America's hit list for regime change before the Iraq War, Iran is on the hit list, so is Libya and Syria and a few more..

So to punish Iran we're going to drive up the oil prices hitting people already hit by high inflation and cuts even harder as not only will oil go up so will food, goods etc. Sounds exactly like an EU plan, absolutely useless and only harming the public. Iran will just sell to China, they'll still get their money and they'll still build their nuke

poke a mad dog with a stick and he generally wants to bite you. Well the EU seems to be sharpening it's stick. There seems to be 2 choices to me 1 get on with the almost inevitable war and do to Iran what was done to Iraq then 'rebuild' the country ensuring you have access to their oil of course and 2 try to find some oil elsewhere - like the Malvinas. at least this way the only people you are going to up set are Argentinians and they don't have a nuclear bomb to fire at you. They can't even muster a couple of catapults and some big stones to chuck...

Bureaucratic madness at a time of economic uncertainties.

I agree with Andy. America and her poodles are the bully boys! What have the Iranians actually done? They are all talk.
America have been poking their noses in several countries lately, and are definitely the aggressors.
Remember Vietnam? Who dropped the bombs on Japan?
American elections are coming up, so I guess Obama wants to look good!
Rant over!

From a cynical point of view, we should side with the Iranians. Not because they are any more right or wrong than the Americans (I don't care enough about the political motivations to bother reading about what is going on), but usually the people allied to the Americans get more deaths and injuries from 'friendly fire' than if we were against the Americans.

As to rising fuel prices, sadly that is a given. already Britains is surrounded by fuel tankers that are laden with petrol, but it pays for the owners of the ships to keep them at sea while the fuel prices get higher and higher. Unfortunate on the drivers in Britain who are always at the end of the food chain, but sound economic sense for the companies involved in withholding the fuel.

Hmmm, now there is a thought. If we side with Iran we may get cheaper fuel as well as less casualties/fatalities.