Iran-U.S. Brinkmanship Over Oil Strait Worsens

TEHRAN - A showdown between Iran and the United States over Tehran's threats to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz to oil tankers worsened Dec. 29 with warships from each side giving weight to an increasingly bellicose exchange of words.

THE U.S. AIRCRAFT carrier Stennis is seen where Iranian ships are conducting 10 days of wargames in the Persian Gulf, accoridng to Iranian officials. (Fars News / AFP via Getty Images)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards rejected a warning that the U.S. military would "not tolerate" such a closure, saying they would act decisively "to protect our vital interests."

The tough language came as Iran's navy said a U.S. aircraft carrier entered a zone where its ships and aircraft were in the middle of 10 days of wargames designed to be a show of military might.

The area was in waters to the east of the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point at the entrance to the Gulf through which more than a third of the world's tanker-borne oil passes.

Iranian Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi warned this week that "not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz" if the West followed through with planned additional sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

A U.S. Defense Department spokesman replied with a declaration Dec. 28 that "interference with the transit ... of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz will not be tolerated."

But Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami, the deputy commander of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards, told Fars news agency Dec. 29 that "our response to threats is threats."

"We have no doubt about our being able to carry out defensive strategies to protect our vital interests - we will act more decisively than ever," he was quoted as saying.

"The Americans are not qualified to give us permission" to carry out military strategy, he said.

Iran's navy chief, Adm. Habibollah Sayari, said the U.S. aircraft carrier was monitored by Iranian forces as it passed from the Strait of Hormuz to the Gulf of Oman, according to state television.

The network showed footage of an aircraft carrier being followed by an Iranian plane.

An Iranian navy spokesman, Commodore Mahmoud Mousavi, told the official IRNA news agency the aircraft carrier went "inside the maneuver zone" where Iranian ships were conducting their exercises.

He added that the Iranian navy was "prepared, in accordance with international law, to confront offenders who do not respect our security perimeters during the maneuvers."

The U.S. aircraft carrier was believed to the John C. Stennis, one of the American navy's biggest warships.

U.S. officials said Dec. 28 that the ship and its accompanying carrier strike group was moving through the Strait of Hormuz.

The United States maintains a navy presence in the Gulf in large part to ensure oil traffic there is unhindered.

Iran, which is already subject to several rounds of sanctions over its nuclear programme, has repeatedly said it could target the Strait of Hormuz if attacked or its economy is strangled.

Such a move could cause havoc on world oil markets, disrupting the fragile global economy.

Its navy maneuvers included the laying of mines and the use of aerial drones, according to Iranian media. Missiles and torpedoes were to be test fired in coming days.

Analysts and oil market traders are watching the developing situation in and around the Strait of Hormuz carefully, fearing a spark could ignite open confrontation between the longtime foes.

The United States had proposed a military hotline between Tehran and Washington to defuse any "miscalculations" that could occur as their navies brush against each other. Iran rejected the offer in September.

U.S. Base in Kyrgyzstan 'Very Dangerous': President

BISHKEK - Kyrgyzstan's new leader said Dec. 29 that it was "very dangerous" for his Central Asian nation to host a U.S. military base at Bishkek airport and that it must become a fully civilian airport by 2014.

Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev said he told visiting U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake that the annual users fee of $150 million which Washington paid was not worth the risks involved.

"Perhaps they may think that Almazbek Atambayev is doing this under pressure from Russia," said Atambayev, a former prime minister who was elected president of the turbulent nation near Afghanistan last month.

"This is not the case," he stressed. "We want to transform Manas into a fully civilian airport. And keeping a military base for $150 million is slightly dangerous. Not slightly, but very dangerous."

The ex-Soviet republic is the world's only nation to house both a Russian and a U.S. military base, reflecting a recent rivalry between Moscow and Washington in the energy-rich region.

Kyrgyzstan had threatened in 2009 to shut the U.S. base down with immediate effect, a move that followed a massive new loan agreement with Russia.

Washington negotiated a new lease agreement with the Kyrgyz government later that year after raising its payment.

Now officially called the Manas Transit Centre, the base is located at a civilian airport on the outskirts of the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.

NATO has mapped out a strategy to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014, but the base remains a vital transit point of operations due to current tensions in U.S. relations with Pakistan.

Atambayev said Washington could still have non-combat access to the airfield if it worked with Moscow on jointly transforming Manas into a modern transportation centre.

"Either the Americans leave in 2014 or, jointly with Russia, they make Manas into a joint civilian transport airport," the Kyrgyz leader told reporters.

Pakistan Military Debuts on Graft List

KARACHI - Corruption watchdog Transparency International for the first time has included Pakistan's military in an annual survey, listing it as a notch more corrupt than the country's education department.

The Pakistan chapter of Transparency International reviews and ranks government departments according to the prevalence of graft in the system.

"Our land revenue and police departments are on top in corruption. The judiciary is ranked fourth while military is in ninth position followed by the education department," Sohail Muzaffar, TI Pakistan chairman, told AFP.

Tensions between Pakistan's powerful military and weak civilian government have soared recently over alleged attempts by an aide of the president to enlist American help to curb its powers, citing a feared military coup in May.

The army, feared and admired in almost equal measure, is widely considered perhaps the most professional institution in Pakistan.

Transparency International advisor Adil Gilani said the military had been included "to dispel the impression that our surveys are biased".

"This time, we have ranked the military according to popular response about corruption in it. Next time we will have more comprehensive details," he said.

"It is public perception that others are more corrupt than the armed forces," he added.

Last year, the judiciary came in sixth.

"Delay in case proceedings and punishment has heavily contributed to the development of a perception that the judicial system has also fallen prey to corruption," said Gilani.

The Supreme Court is deciding whether to order an inquiry into the May 10 memo, a move which could build pressure on President Asif Ali Zardari, who has spent much of December fending off speculation that he could step down.

U.S. Warns Iran Against Blocking Off Strait of Hormuz

TEHRAN, Iran - The United States on Dec. 28 warned Iran that any move to block shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil transit channel, will not be tolerated.

IRANIAN SOLDIERS STAND guard on a military speed boat Dec. 28 during naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz. (Ali Mohammadi / Agence France-Presse)

The chief of Iran's navy, Adm. Habibollah Sayari, said in an interview with Iran's Press TV that "shutting the strait for Iran's armed forces is really easy - or as we say [in Iran] easier than drinking a glass of water."

"But today, we don't need [to shut] the strait because we have the Sea of Oman under control, and can control the transit," he said.

Washington responded with a strong warning against any attempt to disrupt shipping at the entrance to the Gulf, through which more than a third of the world's tanker-borne oil passes.

"Interference with the transit ... of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz will not be tolerated," Pentagon press secretary George Little said.

The strait is a strategic choke point linking the Gulf's petroleum-exporting states of Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to the Indian Ocean.

The United States maintains a naval presence in the Gulf in large part to ensure that passage for oil remains free.

Sayari was speaking a day after Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi threatened to close the strait if the West imposed more sanctions on Iran, and as its navy held war games in international waters to the east of the channel.

World prices briefly climbed after Rahimi warned Dec. 27 that "not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz" if the West broadened sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

"The enemies will only drop their plots when we put them back in their place," the official news agency IRNA quoted Rahimi as saying.

Sayari asserted that the Strait of Hormuz "is completely under the control of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

He said Iran's navy was constituted with the aim of being able to close the strait if necessary.

"The Iranians conduct exercises on a fairly routine basis in this area. That's something that we know about," Little said in Washington. "That being said, any effort to raise the temperature on tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz is unhelpful," he said, adding that there was no sign of Iran taking provocative steps near the channel.

"I'm unaware of any aggressive hostile action directed toward U.S. vessels in the Persian Gulf or the Strait of Hormuz," or against other ships, Little said.

As Iran staged its military maneuvers, the American aircraft carrier John C. Stennis, and the guided-missile cruiser Mobile Bay moved through the Strait of Hormuz.

Little said this was "a pre-planned, routine transit" on the way to the Arabian Sea to provide air power for the war in Afghanistan.

France on Dec. 28 called on Tehran to respect international law and allow unhindered passage of all vessels through the strait.

Sayari, meanwhile, said the Islamic republic's naval maneuvers were designed to show Gulf neighbors the power of its military over the zone.

Iranian ships and aircraft dropped mines in the sea Dec. 27 as part of the drill, and on Dec. 28 drones flew out over the Indian Ocean, according to an Iranian Navy spokesman, Adm. Mahmoud Mousavi.

Iran has said several times it is ready to target the strait if it is attacked or economically strangled by Western sanctions over its nuclear program.

An Iranian lawmaker's comments last week that the exercises would block the Strait of Hormuz briefly sent oil prices soaring before that was denied by the government.

Tehran in September rejected a Washington call for a military hotline between the capitals to defuse any "miscalculations" that could occur between their navies in Gulf waters.

U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner dismissed Rahimi's threat as another attempt "to distract attention from the real issue, which is their continued non-compliance with their international nuclear obligations."

The United States and other Western countries accuse Iran of using its uranium enrichment program to build nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charge.

Extra U.S. and European sanctions aimed at Iran's oil and financial sectors are being considered. A European Union spokesman said on Dec. 28 the bloc was pressing ahead with those plans regardless of Tehran's threat.

'Really Easy' To Close Oil Strait: Iranian Admiral

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran would find it "really easy" to close the world's most important oil transit channel, the Strait of Hormuz at the Gulf's entrance, but would not do so right now, Iran's navy chief said Dec. 28.

"Shutting the strait for Iran's armed forces is really easy - or as we say (in Iran) easier than drinking a glass of water," Adm. Habibollah Sayari said in an interview with Iran's Press TV.

"But today, we don't need (to shut) the strait because we have the Sea of Oman under control and can control the transit," he said.

Sayari was speaking a day after Iran's vice president, Mohammad Reza Rahimi, threatened to close the strait if the West imposed more sanctions on Iran, and as Iran's navy held wargames in international waters to the east of the channel.

World prices climbed after Rahimi warned on Dec. 27 that "not a drop of oil will pass through the Strait of Hormuz" if the West broadened sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.

"The enemies will only drop their plots when we put them back in their place," the official news agency IRNA quoted Rahimi as saying.

New York-traded light sweet crude rose to $101.36 on the threat.

More than a third of the world's tanker-borne oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic chokepoint that links the Gulf - and its petroleum-exporting states of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - to the Indian Ocean.

The United States maintains a navy presence in the Gulf in large part to ensure that passage for oil remains free.

But Sayari asserted that the Strait of Hormuz "is completely under the control of the Islamic Republic of Iran."

He said Iran's navy was constituted with the aim of being able to close the strait if necessary.

Sayari added that the navy maneuvers east of the strait were designed to show Gulf neighbors the power of Iran's military over the zone.

Ships and aircraft dropped mines in the sea on Dec. 27 as part of the drill, and on Dec. 28 drones flew out over the Indian Ocean, according to a navy spokesman, Adm. Mahmoud Mousavi.

Iran has several times said it is ready to target the strait if it is attacked or economically strangled by Western sanctions over its nuclear program.

An Iranian lawmaker's comments last week that the navy exercises would block the Strait of Hormuz briefly sent oil prices soaring before that was denied by the government.

Although the foreign ministry said such drastic action was "not on the agenda," it reiterated Iran's threat of "reactions" if the current tensions with the West spilled over into open confrontation.

Tehran in September rejected a Washington call for a military hotline between the capitals to defuse any "miscalculations" that could occur between their navies in the Gulf.

In Washington, U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner dismissed the latest threat from Iran's vice president.

"I just think it's another attempt by them to distract attention from the real issue, which is their continued noncompliance with their international nuclear obligations," Toner told reporters.

The United States accuses Iran of using its uranium enrichment program to build nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charges.

Extra U.S. and European sanctions aimed at Iran's oil and financial sectors are being considered.

The last round of Western sanctions, announced in November, triggered a pro-regime protest in front of the British embassy in Tehran during which militia members answering to the Revolutionary Guards overran the mission and ransacked it.

London closed the embassy as a result and ordered Iran's mission in Britain shut as well.

Taiwan Navy Retires 2 Missile Boats

TAIPEI, Taiwan - Taiwan on Dec. 28 retired two patrol boats, the navy's first vessels armed with ship-to-ship missiles, that were hailed as "critical" to safeguarding the island, officials said.

Hundreds of former and active soldiers who had served on board the 240-ton Lung Chiang and Sui Chiang bid farewell to the ships at a ceremony in southern Kaohsiung city, the navy said.

Vice Admiral Chiang Lung-an said the ships "have played a critical role in safeguarding Taiwan over the past 30 years".

The U.S.-made Lung Chiang joined Taiwan's navy in 1978, while the Taiwan-built Sui Chiang came three years later in 1981. Each was armed with four homemade "Hsiung Feng I" (Brave Wind I) anti-ship missiles.

Earlier this year, Taiwan's navy put a squadron of 10 guided-missile boats into service featuring what was described as "stealth" technologies as it looked to boost its defenses amid Beijing's military buildup.

Tensions in the Taiwan Strait have eased since President Ma Ying-jeou of the China-friendly Kuomintang party came to power in 2008, pledging to boost trade links and allowing more Chinese tourists to visit the island.

But Beijing considers Taiwan part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

The island has governed itself since its split with mainland China in 1949 at the end of a civil war.

Finland: Missile Ship Free to Depart Port

HELSINKI - Finland has removed a cargo of 69 Patriot missiles found aboard a merchant ship that docked in the country and allowed the vessel to leave, transport safety officials said Dec. 26.

Thor Liberty was detained Dec. 15 in Kotka, southeast Finland, and was later found to be carrying 150 tons of explosive material, as well as the surface-to-air Patriot missiles and missile propellant charges.

"A Trafi check on 26.12.2011 has revealed that the improperly loaded explosive material has been offloaded from the vessel, with the exception of two properly loaded containers, and the detention order has been lifted," the Finnish Transport Safety Authority Trafi said in a statement.

However Trafi noted that the ship was still unable to continue on its journey because Finnish customs had placed the Ukrainian captain and first mate under a travel ban pending an investigation into the missiles.

Trafi added that customs had also impounded the explosives still on board the ship in two containers.

The missiles, discovered Dec. 21 aboard the British-registered ship, were bound for the Chinese port city of Shanghai, according to Finnish police. Finnish customs are investigating the case as one of illegal export of defense material.

A German defense ministry spokesman said the Patriot missiles, produced by Raytheon, came from the German military and were destined for South Korea.

He said it was a "legal sale on the basis of an accord between two states at the government level." He said the transaction had received an official export authorization and was reported to customs authorities.

However Finland said Dec. 23 it had not received the paperwork required from Germany.