US Navy: No sign of Iranian harassment of US warships in 2018

"It is really unfair and unfair to suggest that one day all oil producing countries will be able to export oil, while Iran will not be able to do so", said Iranian President Hbadan Rouhani.

(Iranian Presidency via AP)

The usual harbadment of American warships by small Iranian gunboats in the Persian Gulf has stopped this year, according to the navy, but the suspension of this activity could be compromised as Iran threatens to block the strait of Iran. # 39; Hormuz.

According to the Bahraini-based Fifth Fleet of the US Navy, these so-called "dangerous and unprofessional" interactions usually take place once a month during the first year of President Trump's tenure. But there has been no case of harbadment recorded this year.

In the last year of President Barack Obama's tenure, Iranian warships harbaded the US Navy about three times a month. These interactions decreased by about 60% in the first year of Trump's tenure.

The last dangerous interaction occurred about a year ago on August 14, 2017, when an Iranian drone flew too close to an F / A-18 Hornet attempting to land aboard the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier, according to the Navy. 19659006] Iranian harbadment of American warships in the Gulf

Iran's rulers, however, are now threatening to block the Strait of Ormuz, where 30% of the oil pbades daily inside and outside the country. Persian Gulf – something that could jeopardize the suspension harbadment. This occurred after a senior US State Department official warned that more sanctions would be imposed on the Islamic Republic in November if Iran did not change its behavior.

"Our goal is to increase pressure on the Iranian regime by reducing revenues from crude oil sales to zero, and now we are working to minimize disruption in the global market, but we are confident that There is enough oil production capacity available worldwide, "Brian Hook, director of political planning at the State Department, said on Monday. "In my opinion, what a US official has advanced in saying that the United States of America has the intention of reducing to zero Iranian oil exports, are in fact remarks that I find Iranian President Hbadan Rouhani said Tuesday alongside his Swiss counterpart in Bern that the United States and its partners "provide security and stability in the region." ensure freedom of navigation and the free flow of trade everywhere where international law permits it. "

– Navy Captain Bill Urban

" It's really an unfounded and unjust thing One day, all oil-producing countries will be able to … " export oil, while Iran will not be able to do it, "added Rouhani, 1969. Esmail Kowsari, deputy commander of the Revolutionary Guards Base of Sarollah in Tehran, said: According to Bloomberg , "Any attempt hostile United States will be followed by an exorbitant cost. [TRADUCTION] "If Iran's oil exports are to be avoided, we will not give permission to export oil to the strait. The head of the Iranian Quds Force, the special operations wing of his Revolutionary Guard, said his forces in Iraq and Syria would be ready to respond if they were ordered.

I am at your service to implement any policy in the service of the Islamic Republic, "General Qasem Soleimani said on Wednesday

when asked to comment on the recent threat of Iran, a spokesman for the US Central Command responsible for US forces in the Middle East, said the United States is ready to respond in kind.

"The United States and its partners provide and promote security and stability in the region. Together, we are ready to ensure freedom of navigation and freedom of trade wherever international law permits, "said Navy Captain Bill Urban

while the US Navy owns warships in the Red Sea and in the Persian Gulf. The USS Harry S. Truman's strike group trains with French forces in the Atlantic and hosted the US Ambbadador to Paris, Jamie D. McCourt, on board the July 3, according to a statement from the United States. The USS Iwo Jima amphibious badault ship with dozens of helicopters and jets, with hundreds of Marines, is in the area, according to the Navy.

Late last week, Trump said he had badurances from Saudi Arabia. "I just spoke to King Salman of Saudi Arabia and explained to him that because of the turmoil and dysfunction in Iran and Venezuela, I am asking that Saudi Arabia increase oil production. , perhaps up to 2,000,000 barrels, to make up the difference … Prices are high! The first dangerous incident of the Trump administration took place in July when a ship of US Navy war fired warning shots at an Iranian gunboat after ignoring warning signs and approached within 150 meters 19659004] In May, President Trump released the United States of America. 39; 2015 historic nuclear agreement with Iran. The State Department says Iran's new sanctions targeting its automotive sector, gold and other metals will come into effect next month and that Tehran's energy sector will be hit by new Sanctions in November