It was known as the tanker war. In 1987, Iran wreaked havoc on global energy supplies moving through the Strait of Hormuz, using mines to attack Kuwaiti oil tankers and eventually triggering direct conflict between U.S. naval forces and Iranian vessels. The U.S. estimated that Iran had attacked more than 160 ships in its campaign to disrupt oil shipments from the Persian Gulf.
Is Tehran now taking a page from its 1980s playbook?
Washington says yes. The U.S. accuses Iran of carrying out a blatant assault on two tankers in the Gulf of Oman, one Japanese-owned and the other Norwegian-owned. The U.S. believes Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may have used mines in the attacks. On Friday, U.S. Central Command released video that it said showed a Revolutionary Guard patrol boat pulling up alongside one of the tankers and retrieving an unexploded limpet mine off the ships hull.
Iran is also suspected of using mines to attack four oil tankers off the coast of the United Arab Emirates in May. President Donald Trump said there was no doubt of Irans involvement in the tanker attacks, calling the regime a nation of terror. … Theyre in deep, deep trouble.
For now, the priority for the U.S. and its allies should be to protect navigation. The West cannot allow the waters surrounding the Strait of Hormuz to be held hostage by Tehran. Nearly a third of the worlds crude oil passes through those waters. Naval ships from the U.S. and its allies can escort oil tankers and other ships through the strait and the Gulf of Oman while the threat from Iran looms. Thats what the U.S. did during the Tanker War.
As for Washingtons longer-term strategy toward Iran, the Trump administration should stay on course by squeezing Tehran with sanctions until supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis regime returns to the table to negotiate a better nuclear deal.
That deal must not only ensure Irans halt of uranium enrichment, it needs to address the regimes propping up of terrorist groups and its pursuit of ballistic missiles. The 2015 nuclear deal Trump shelved was too narrow in its scope. The missing cog in Washingtons strategy is Europe its leaders continue to pin their hopes on the 2015 pact.
Washingtons ramp-up of sanctions against Iran, particularly those aimed at Tehrans oil industry, have been effective. Iranian oil exports have dropped from 2.5 million barrels a day to below a million barrels. That has dealt a $10 billion broadside to Irans economy. If Iran is indeed behind the latest tanker attacks, Tehrans motive may be to lash out at U.S. sanctions. Constrain our oil shipments? Well constrain yours with limpet mine attacks on tankers.
An escalation of military tension in the region is in nobodys interest, and the Iranians likely understand that. But U.S. sanctions are doing their work and should continue. If European leaders would get on board, chances increase that conflict with Iran can be resolved the right way through negotiations.
