Even as the Biden administration seeks to deescalate tensions with Iran through a prisoner exchange, the U.S. is debating a plan that would put armed U.S. sailors and Marines aboard civilian vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, the strategic Middle East waterway where approximately a fifth of the world’s sea-born crude oil passes. The idea, which aims to deter Tehran from harassing or capturing the vessels, has reportedly received support from senior U.S. policymakers. While President Joe Biden has yet to sign off, the decision “has pretty much been made,” according to an unnamed U.S. official.
Details of the proposal are still in flux but, based on public reporting, the U.S. is looking to offer vulnerable ships what would effectively be an armed guard staffed and paid for courtesy of the U.S. military. Unfortunately, it would also be another step up the escalation ladder in the Middle East at a time when the administration is purportedly interested in right-sizing its regional presence in favor of the Indo-Pacific.
Iran’s tendency to complicate international shipping in the Persian Gulf is well-known. In June 2019, two tankers were struck by limpet mines in an attack U.S. officials blamed on Tehran. Last November, an Iranian drone struck an Israeli-owned oil tanker off the coast of Oman. By the U.S. Navy’s count, the Iranians have harassed, attacked or seized nearly 20 merchant ships since 2021, including two incidents in July when Iranian navy vessels attempted to seize two oil tankers in international waters. In those instances, the destroyer USS McFaul warded off the Iranians.
The Biden administration has spent months enhancing military patrols in the Persian Gulf in the hope that Tehran would be discouraged from continuing its destabilizing behavior. On July 26, the Pentagon deployed a squadron of F-35 joint strike fighters to the region, which supplemented the A-10 and F-16 aircraft sent in the spring. And on Aug. 6, more than 3,000 U.S. sailors and Marines aboard two U.S. Navy ships arrived in the Middle East.
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