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New US-Led Patrols in Persian Gulf Raise Stakes with Iran

Associated Press

   DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - As the U.S. tries a new way to protect
   shipping across the Persian Gulf amid tensions with Iran, it finds
   itself sailing into uncertain waters.

   For decades, the U.S. has considered the waters of the Persian Gulf as
   critical to its national security. Through the gulf's narrow mouth, the
   Strait of Hormuz, 20% of all crude oil sold passes onto the world
   market. Any disruption there likely will see energy prices spike.

   The U.S. has been willing to use its firepower to ensure that doesn't
   happen. It escorted ships here in the so-called 1980s "Tanker War ."
   America fought its last major naval battle in these waters in 1988
   against Iran.

   Now, the U.S. Navy is trying to put together a new coalition of nations
   to counter what it sees as a renewed maritime threat from Iran. But the
   situation decades later couldn't be more different.

   The U.S. public is fatigued from years of Mideast warfare after the
   Sept. 11 attacks. The demand for Persian Gulf oil has switched to Asia.
   Gulf Arab nations poured billions of dollars into their own weapons
   purchases while inviting a host of nations to station their own forces
   here, even as infighting dominates their relations.

   Meanwhile, Iran finds itself backed into a corner and ready for a
   possible conflict it had 30 years for which to prepare. It stands
   poised this week to further break the terms of its 2015 nuclear deal
   with world powers, over a year after President Donald Trump
   unilaterally withdrew America from the accord and imposed crippling
   sanctions on the country.

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