Iranian speedboats reportedly menaced U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz on Jan. 6. Since then, the United States has emphasized the threat posed by Iran to U.S. forces in the strait and to the transit of oil from the Persian Gulf region. [more]
Video footage released by the U.S. Navy on Jan. 8 lends support to the Pentagon’s assertion that Iranian navy vessels behaved in an overly aggressive fashion during an encounter with U.S. Navy vessels Jan. 6. [more]
An unnamed Pentagon official said five Iranian vessels had aggressively approached three U.S. Navy ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. [more]
The Jan. 7 report from the U.S. Pentagon about Iranian fast boats allegedly provoking U.S. Navy vessels into a near clash in the Strait of Hormuz contains several oddities. [more]
The Jan. 5 provocation of U.S. Navy ships by vessels from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could be an Iranian attempt to put more pressure on Washington to meet Tehran's demands in negotiations over Iraq. [more]
"The Saudis are not unhappy to see lower oil prices squeezing Iran," says George Friedman, chief executive of the Austin, Tex. intelligence outfit Stratfor. "They just don't want prices to get low enough that it forces Iran to do something crazy."
Forbes.com November 6, 2008
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