Iran plans to send ships close to US waters: report

[jimmy olsen]

  This seems unwise.

http://www.france24.com/en/20110927-iran-plans-send-ships-close-us-waters-report

Iran plans to send ships close to US waters: report
A handout picture release by the official Iranian press agency IRNA shows an Iranian support warship docked at the Syrian port of Latakia, February 2011. Iran's navy is going to deploy ships close to US territorial waters, its commander in chief was quoted as saying on Tuesday.

"As the global oppression (the US) is present not far from our maritime border ... our navy is going to have a strong presence not far from US territorial waters," the Irna news agency quoted Admiral Habibollah Sayyari as saying.

On July 19 Sayyari also said that Iran was going to send "a flotilla into the Atlantic".

The remarks come as another high-ranking Iranian appeared to reject a recent US request to establish a "red phone" link between the countries to avoid unwanted confrontation between their armed forces in the Gulf region.

"When we are in the Gulf of Mexico, we will establish direct contact with the United States," Ali Fadavi, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, was quoted in press reports as saying.

"In the view of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the presence of the US in the Persian Gulf is illegitimate and makes no sense."

The Iranian navy has been developing its presence in international waters since last year, regularly launching vessels in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Aden to protect Iranian ships from Somali pirates operating in the area.

Iran also sent two ships into the Mediterranean for the first time in February, via the Suez Canal, to the annoyance of Israel and the United States.

And in July, leaders announced that a Kilo class submarine had completed an inaugural mission in the southern Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
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[Ed Anger]

GATHER YOUR ARMIES

[Scipio]

Dude, seriously?

I'll bring my fucking bass boat out there with my deer rifle, and cap the lot of them backwoods fishers.

[Neil]

The US should simply declare that any Iranian ship in the Atlantic will be seen as an attack on the US by the Iranians, which will be countered by a full nuclear strike.

[Admiral Yi]

Better yet, we should just fail to notice.

[Josquius]

Their logic makes sense.
But a silly, pointless move nonetheless.

[Zoupa]

I'm sure the Chiefs are shitting their pants. 

[Neil]

I'm sure the Chiefs are shitting their pants. 

They'll probably capsize their own ships when they all run to the same side of the ship to pray towards Mecca.  Fucking Iranians are even stupider than the Chinese.

These guys wouldn't even scare the Charlestown Chiefs.

[Grallon]

This sounds like provocation.  Whom does it profit?




G.

[Razgovory]

I thought I posted in this thread.  Oh, well.  If the Iranians want to do stupid things, who are we to stop them?

[AnchorClanker]

This sounds like provocation.  Whom does it profit?




G.

It will benefit IRGCN officers, who will likely sell all the supplies and spare parts for this.
It will also allow Iranian politicians to 'demonstrate' that they are 'standing up to the man'.
Preaching to the already-converted, and annoying everybody else.

[dps]

This sounds like provocation.  Whom does it profit?

I'd say it's either being done for Iranian domestic political reasons, or because the Iranian leadership really is batshit insane.

Legally, of course, they have the right to send units of their navy anywhere they want in international waters.  I have severe doubts about their ability to actually logistically support a flotilla that far from their home waters, without help from someone.  I suspect the U.S. intelligence services will be watching very closely to see who, if anyone, helps them. 

Chavez and Castro, of course, would be the prime suspects in this hemisphere, but I'm not sure the Iranians can even get their ships to where Cuba or Venezuela could help resupply them without another source of aid.

[AnchorClanker]

The Iranians are many things, but insane is not one of them.  They generally make 'rational' decisions, considering their views.  Of course, we usually disagree with them, but that is not a sign of insanity.  This is for interal consumption, mostly.

[Razgovory]

The Iranians are many things, but insane is not one of them.  They generally make 'rational' decisions, considering their views.  Of course, we usually disagree with them, but that is not a sign of insanity.  This is for interal consumption, mostly.

It might be a test to see if they can actually pull it off.  They may have dreams of getting basing rights in Cuba or Venezuela and they want to see if they can sail out that far with out the ships sinking.

[dps]

The Iranians are many things, but insane is not one of them.  They generally make 'rational' decisions, considering their views.  Of course, we usually disagree with them, but that is not a sign of insanity.  This is for interal consumption, mostly.

I agree.  I just mentioned insanity in the context that there's little sane justification for a stunt like this except for domestic political consumption.