"Iran will not repeat its warning ... the enemy's carrier has been moved to the Sea of Oman because of our drill," Iran Army chief Ataollah Salehi said Tuesday, Reuters reported. "I advise, recommend and warn them over the return of this carrier to the Persian Gulf because we are not in the habit of warning more than once."
Truth be told, should we go to war against Iran, we won't want our carrier in the constricted waters of the Persian Gulf. We'd want the maneuvering room of the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean behind that. We deploy a carrier in the Gulf when we don't anticipate combat with Iran.
So if we leave, Iran claims we are fleeing from them. And if we stay, we leave our carrier more vulnerable to the weapons Iran has.
I'll leave the last word to our Pentagon (because that's how I roll):
"The U.S. Navy operates under international maritime conventions to maintain a constant state of high vigilance in order to ensure the continued, safe flow of maritime traffic in waterways critical to global commerce," Little's statement continued. "We are committed to protecting maritime freedoms that are the basis for global prosperity; this is one of the main reasons our military forces operate in the region."
Iran can look like a giant with their threats. But if they ever try to back their words, we could sink every buoyant thing flying an Iranian flag.
Of course, if the internal situation in Iran is this dire, Iran's nutball rulers might believe a fight with our Navy is less of a threat (tip to Instapundit):
Big news today from Iran, confirming once again that the hapless regime in Tehran proceeds down its death spiral. The first is the spectacular collapse of the national currency, which has lost 35% of its value since September. The second headline, in an extraordinary press conference by the effective commander of the revolutionary guards, is the admission that the incarcerated leaders of the green movement have so much powerful support that the regime dares not prosecute them.
Further sanctions could push Iran to the wall even as they would be insufficient to halt Iran's nuclear path:
For Iran, stopping oil exports is a red line, because 55 percent of the government’s income and 80 percent of the country’s foreign earnings come from oil.
Mahmoud Bahmani, the governor of the Central Bank of Iran, says Tehran has currency reserves for up to six months and could ensure essential imports for up to two years. Nevertheless, he describes the planned sanctions as “a declaration of war.”
If the toast falls jam side down, don't panic. Oil prices will skyrocket--at first. Iran will issue scary statements of our doom--at first. And Iran will take a shot at whatever naval asset of ours is nearby--at first. Then, if we don't lose our nerve, we'll deploy military assets and crush Iran's conventional naval and air forces if President Obama gives the order. And if we are smart, we'll expand the target list while we have the opportunity.
