The US is deploying the USS Thomas Hudner destroyer as well as F-35 and F-16 warplanes to the Middle East to deter Iran from seizing ships in the Gulf, the Pentagon said on Monday.
The move came after the Iranian Navy tried to seize two merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf of Oman earlier this month, in one incident opening fire at one of the vessels.
“In light of this continued threat, and in coordination with our partners and allies, the [US] Department [of Defense] is increasing our presence and ability to monitor the Strait and surrounding waters,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said, calling on Tehran to “immediately cease these destabilizing actions that threaten the free flow of commerce through this strategic waterway.”
Photo: AP
A senior defense official on Friday last week said that the US was flying A-10 Warthog warplanes over the Gulf, armed “with the kinds of munitions that would be useful to go against fast boats and moving targets.”
As Iranian “fast attack boats, fast attack craft have increased as a maritime threat, we’ve tried a number of different ways to tackle them and the A-10 has proven capable of that,” the official added.
Washington said its forces blocked two attempts by Iran to seize commercial tankers in waters off Oman on July 5, while Tehran took control of a commercial ship the following day.
Iran in April and early May seized two tankers within a week in regional waters, and Tehran was also accused of launching a drone attack against an Israeli-owned tanker in November last year.
There has been a series of such incidents since 2018, when then-US president Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and reimposed crippling sanctions.
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