Gulf | Bahrain
US 'will retaliate if ships are targeted'
The United States stands to retaliate against Iran in case Tehran targets the "innocent passage of ships," the commander of the Fifth Fleet has said.
- By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
- Published: 00:00 February 20, 2007
Manama: The United States stands to retaliate against Iran in case Tehran targets the "innocent passage of ships," the commander of the Fifth Fleet has said.
"Although our presence in the Arabian Gulf is for defensive and not offensive purposes, the US will take military action if ships are attacked or if countries in the region are targeted or US troops come under direct attack," Patrick Walsh yesterday told journalists in Bahrain.
The three-star vice admiral said that there was increasing concern about the intention of Iran in the region.
"The question is not what the US is planning, but rather what Iran is planning for the region," he said.
"When you look at the exercises conducted by Iran in the last nine months, you see the open display of suggestions. They are using mines in their exercises and, very importantly, they are conducting sea manoeuvres in the proximity of the Strait of Hormuz. Why would Iran conduct them in that region when they have so much space elsewhere?" About 40 per cent of all the world's traded oil passes through the strategic waterway, and last month, an Iranian newspaper warned that retaliation by Tehran could include stopping oil traffic through the Strait.
Another indication of Iran's aggressive intentions, according to Walsh, is the fiery statements from the Iranian leadership.
But the admiral said that the US would not give up the region to Iran.
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