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WAR ALERT IN MIDDLE EAST

 

(A-O Newswire) -- Arab nations in the Persian Gulf region, including Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council nations have placed their national military services on a special war alert in anticipation of military hostilities between Iran, the United States and Israel.

 

Over the New Year weekend, Iran threatened to close off the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway that provides an entrance and exit to and from the Persian Gulf. The USS John C. Stennis aircraft carrier and an escort warship entered the Persian Gulf earlier last week to monitor Iranian Navy war exercises. As the drills drew towards a close by New Year's day, the carrier and its escort sailed back through the Strait of Hormuz and out into the Sea of Oman and the Indian Ocean. Afterwards, Iran's top general issued a warning to the U.S. advising that the carrier not return or else.

 

As the new year began on Monday, Iranian lawmakers were meeting to consider passing a law requiring all foreign warships to seek permission from Iran to transit through the Strait. In response, the United States basically ignored the warning, banding it as simply more saber ratlling.

 

There is much speculation that all of this is leading to an outbreak of war between Iran, Israel and the U.S. Such speculation also concludes that the outbreak of hostilities will occur sooner rather than later and will spread to neighboring nations in the Persian Gulf and possibly to Europe as Iran retaliates. At the moment Iran's taunts suggest Iran is trying to goad the U.S. into an attack by forbidding the USS Stennis carrier from returning to the Strait of Hormuz. At some point, the U.S. will send warships back through the Strait probably to the headquarters of the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain. The U.S. cannot simply cower to any Iranian claim that it 'owns' the rights to the Strait of Hormuz in defiance of international maritime law.

 

All of this comes as President Obama announced Pentagon budget cuts on Thursday (1/5/12). Those cuts would reduce U.S. soldiers in uniform by one third over a 10 year period of time.

The Iranian challenge of the Hormuz waterway also comes as word is leaked through Israeli media of a special, joint military exercise for the U.S. and Israel with thousands of U.S. troops deploying to Israel. The join exercise, code-named "Austere Challenge" is designed to test missile defenses for Israel and the entire Middle East region. The date for this exercise was not precisely given other than for sometime in 2012. There is some speculation that this joint drill will begin deploying U.S. troops as early as later in January, while other speculation maintains an early spring date for the drill, itself.

 

As we were about to post this information, late word from Britain's Defense Ministery is that Britain will not tolerate an Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Britain would consider such an action to be an "act of war" and would take military action against Iran to open the vital waterway to the Persian Gulf.

 

For full reports within the mainstream media on these topics see the following headlines and links shown below. See our prior weekly coverage in our 2011 News Finale for the media reports on the initial Strait of Hormuz tensions

 

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Biz As Usual For US Navy in Persian Gulf

After Iran's Warning to USS John Stennis Carrier

NYT LINK

 

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Britain Warns Iran of War Over Hormuz Closure

LINK

 

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Arabs on War Alert for Early US-Iran Clash

Debka Intelligence Analysis

LINK

 

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US Troops To Deploy To Israel

 

LINK 1

LINK 2

LINK 3

LINK 4

LINK 5

 

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Obama Cuts Military By a Third

Over a 10 Year Period

Could Be More if Budget Deal Fails

 

LINK

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Iran To Hold New Naval War Drills in February

LINK 

LINK 2

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