quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
Limpet mines can be placed by a diver with a timed fuse while the vessel is at port.

Which appears to possibly be the case here.

From the news article linked in feersum's post:

quote:

U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and other officials expressed confidence that Iran was behind the attack near the Strait of Hormuz. Bolton, while visiting the United Arab Emirates, said, “There’s no doubt in anybody’s mind in Washington who’s responsible for this.” The operation, he added, was carried out with “naval mines almost certainly from Iran.” The American fleet also closely monitored several Iranian ships, from which the attack was apparently conducted by divers from the navy of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGCN).

Interesting. Maybe "launch the torpedo as soon as the mine goes boom" kinda thing?

Yeah, and Iran and others have no history of launching small-scale attacks on US interests at a time when they think diplomacy will prevent the US from retaliating.

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
Yeah, and Iran and others have no history of launching small-scale attacks on US interests at a time when they think diplomacy will prevent the US from retaliating.

Poking the wrong guy.

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:
Iran sure is poking the rattlesnake....

Trouble is, their stick isn't a tenth as big as it would need to be.

They're poking Gorzirra.

I guess the real question is, who else could be responsible? Easy question.

There is no question that the events happened. There are only so many countries in that area that could have done it, and there is only one country in that area that would have done it.

Nuke 'em till they glow and shoot them in the dark.

Operation Praying Mantis was a kinder, gentler US who had only put up with a few years of their bullshit. We’ve lost way too many US lives and have put up with their shit for over a generation. Iran will will be lucky to have anything that floats if they keep this up.

Start launching tomahawks until the B52s fly overhead and drop all that ordnance we have left over from Vietnam, the first gulf war, the second gulf war until things cease moving across the area...it’s hard to launch offenses whenyo got bombed into the Stone Age....

Just like the shit in Memphis...they make riot shotguns..the cops should shoot the first asshole who grabs a brick, stand over his corpse and look for more assholes who wanna grab bricks...and keep doing it until assholes figure out doing that will get you dead


It’s probaby good I’m not in charge of much...cause assholes would get dead.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: MikeinNC,

Tonight Fox is reporting that the US has video of an Iraninan boat removing an unexploded mine from one of the tankers, even as US forces were either on the scene or enroute.

Suspcions are that they wanted to remove evidence of their involvement since the mine didn't detonate.

Unclear if the video will be made public at this time.

If this is true, then exactly how does one retaliate? Since Iran did not attack US ships, the ships they did attack don't have sufficient forces to launch a counterattack. Are we going to proxy this for them?

Clearly a force response is necessary and sanctions need to be tightened even more. Just how do we tie into the ships attacked warranting our direct response?

The nearest IRGC base was just 24 miles from both attacked vessels location...

quote:

Originally posted by Flashlightboy:
Clearly a force response is necessary and sanctions need to be tightened even more. Just how do we tie into the ships attacked warranting our direct response?

Wel, there were those six Iranian ships that mysteriously burned. Wonder if any seals were playing around them?

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:
Iran sure is poking the rattlesnake....

Trouble is, their stick isn't a tenth as big as it would need to be.

The democrats have the Iranians back.

Retaliation is the issue in this somewhat new 'grey' area of international relations, where hostile acts border on act of war by one party against another. Been ongoing in the South China Sea for quite awhile now.

Read a piece in USA Today, that it could be Houti Rebels / freedom fighters in Yemen fighting Saudi incursion in Yemen may have launched the attacks to hurt Saudi Oil revenue.

Or, Iran is trying to send a subtle message to the War Hawks in the US government, that Iran might lose, but will inflict a 'world' of hurt on the Western economies. Still a dangerous move against a Superpower with an itchy trigger finger - especially against the 100 pound weaklings in the world.

I guess we may get to see how good the Russian SA300 / SA400 (if Iran has the latter yet) is...

Would be interesting to discover what sort of Electronic Spectrum denial capabilities Iran has too. Been reading a lot about this issue and how to deal with in in some US military publications.

It's a whole new world.

quote:

Originally posted by Flashlightboy:
Tonight Fox is reporting that the US has video of an Iraninan boat removing an unexploded mine from one of the tankers, even as US forces were either on the scene or enroute.

Suspcions are that they wanted to remove evidence of their involvement since the mine didn't detonate.

Unclear if the video will be made public at this time.

If this is true, then exactly how does one retaliate? Since Iran did not attack US ships, the ships they did attack don't have sufficient forces to launch a counterattack. Are we going to proxy this for them?

Clearly a force response is necessary and sanctions need to be tightened even more. Just how do we tie into the ships attacked warranting our direct response?

Is the Iranian government and leadership a bunch of low life lunatic dirt bag pond scum? Yes. Do I think it's a good idea to get into a war with them. Definitely not. I have known a few Iranian exiles living in the US. To a person they were all fine people. Many years ago I met Reza Pahlavi (the Shah's son). He is a good guy. I think the way to go is to encourage the many dissidents in Iran. Officially its fine to say we don't favor regime change, but unofficially we should go all in for regime change.

Burning tankers jack up the price of oil. Lots of folks benefit from this, and I bet the burning tankers are insured.

quote:

Originally posted by Fed161:
Is the Iranian government and leadership a bunch of low life lunatic dirt bag pond scum? Yes. Do I think it's a good idea to get into a war with them. Definitely not. I have known a few Iranian exiles living in the US. To a person they were all fine people. Many years ago I met Reza Pahlavi (the Shah's son). He is a good guy. I think the way to go is to encourage the many dissidents in Iran. Officially its fine to say we don't favor regime change, but unofficially we should go all in for regime change.

I served USAF in Iran 1969-1971 and lived in Tehran. The Shah was still very much in power and life there was fairly nice. The Iranians spoke English, dressed in Western clothes, and enjoyed some of the Western ways. There was still a lot of poverty, but no one was starving, because there were special government stores that took care of that. The Shah was doing all he could to bring Iran into the 20th Century. Of course, all that went away when the Shah was deposed.

flashguy

I'm confused, either they have gall to go back and remove the evidence or, they're idiots with too many bosses. Over filled boat and nobody on that tanker dropped any garbage or, scrap metal on them.

Filmed either from the ship's Fire Scout drone or, from a EP-3

I'm sure Iran will immediately share the physical evidence so everyone can figure out who done it.
Japanese reps are already in country.

Would have been nice to end that video of the boat with a AGM114 impact or 2.

I'm not a mineologist or anything, but wouldn't it make more sense to mount a mine below the water line? Or am I seeing something different in the video? He removes it from about 10 feet above the water line, right?

They probably mounted it where it was convenient, so they could leave quickly. It would cause plenty of damage, but might not sink the boat.