Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters Monday during a press conference that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the deployment of the USS Thomas Hudner, an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, and F-35 and F-16 fighter jets to the U.S. Central Command Area of Responsibility in response to "a number of recent alarming events in the Strait of Hormuz."
The deployment is a response to several attempts by Tehran in recent months to seize vessels traversing the Persian Gulf.
In April, Iran's navy was successful in capturing a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker.
In early June, the U.S. and British navies responded to a distress call from a merchant ship transiting the Strait of Hormuz that came under harassment from what U.S. Naval Forces Central Command described as three Iranian fast-attack boats.
And on July 5, the U.S. military said it thwarted two attempts by the Iranian navy to seize commercial tankers near the coast of Oman.
The deployment on Monday is on top of the increase in rotation of U.S. ships and aircraft patrolling the Strait of Hormuz that was announced in May in response to the increase in malicious activity in the region by Tehran.
"In light of this continued threat and in coordination with our partners and allies, the department is increasing our presence and ability to monitor the strait and surrounding waters," Singh said.
"We call upon Iran to immediately cease these destabilizing actions that threaten the free flow of commerce through this strategic waterway of which the world depends on for more than one-fifth of the world's oil supply."
US deploying warship, planes to deter Iran ship seizures
Washington (AFP) July 17, 2023 -
The United States is deploying a 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 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 merchant vessels.
"In light of this continued threat and in coordination with our partners and allies, the (Defense) Department is increasing our presence and ability to monitor the Strait and surrounding waters," Deputy Pentagon 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."
On Friday, a senior defense official said the United States 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 the Iran to seize commercial tankers in international waters off Oman on July 5, while Tehran took control of a commercial ship the following day.
In April and early May, Iran 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 2022.
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 on the Islamic republic, sending tensions soaring.
Talks aimed at reviving the accord remain stalled, but have recently resumed with Oman as an intermediary.
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