US military moving reinforcements to Gulf

WASHINGTON -- The US military had quietly moved significant reinforcements into the Persian Gulf to step up its deterrent to Iran, a US newspaper reported Tuesday.

According to a New York Times report, the reinforcements are intended to "deter" the Iranian military from "any possible attempt to shut the Strait of Hormuz and to increase the number of fighter jets capable of striking deep into Iran if the standoff over its nuclear program escalates."

The newspaper said the deployments were part of a long-planned effort to bolster the US military presence in the Gulf, in part to reassure Israel in an election year.

The most visible elements of the buildup are Navy ships designed to enhance the ability to patrol the Strait of Hormuz, and to reopen the narrow waterway should Iran "attempt to mine it to prevent Saudi Arabia and other oil exporters from sending their tankers through the vital passage," according to the paper.

These elements included minesweepers, with the Navy doubling the number in the region to eight. The Navy also moved a converted amphibious transport and docking ship, the Ponce, into the Gulf to serve as the military's first floating staging base.

The initial assignment for the Ponce, according to the report, is to serve as a logistics and operations hub for mine-clearing. But with a medical suite and helicopter deck, and bunks for combat troops, it could be used as a base for special operations.

At a recent Pentagon news briefing, Admiral Jonathan Greenert, chief of Naval Operations, said the Central Command, which oversees the Gulf, was in an "evolution of the afloat-forward staging base coming on-line ... combined with the mobile landing platform" and littoral combat ships.

"These are newer ships and different ships, which will add to the Arabian Gulf inventory," Greenert said.

The Navy is not the only active actor in the Gulf. Since late spring, F-22 stealth fighters and older F-15C warplanes have moved into two separate bases in the Gulf to bolster the combat jets already in the region and the carrier strike groups that are on constant tours of the area.

These aircraft add greater capability against coastal missile batteries that could threaten shipping, as well as extend the US reach so it can strike targets deeper inside Iran.

However, the paper cautioned that, with the United States and its allies currently starting to enforce a much broader embargo on Iran's oil exports, the buildup carried significant risks, including that it could cause Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards to "lash out" against the increased presence.

During the Pentagon briefing, Greenert also said the Iranian Navy had been "professional and courteous, committing to the rules of the road," recently.

On Monday, Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Agha-Mohammadi said the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iran's Majlis (parliament) had prepared a bill calling for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf in response to the recent European Union (EU) oil embargo on Iran, the official IRNA news agency reported.

The Iranian lawmaker said the bill had been signed by 100 parliament members serving in a 290-seat congress as of Sunday, adding the bill would be "soon" presented in the open session of the Majlis.

Iran and some Western powers have long been at odds over Tehran's nuclear enrichment activities. Many rounds of multinational talks over how to deal with the nuclear problem have failed to find substantial solutions.

Tehran has been insistent it is entitled to the rights of peaceful use of nuclear power and will not hesitate to defend those rights in the face of Western pressure.

In January, EU foreign ministers approved the new sanctions against Tehran, which prevents its member states from buying Iranian crude oil. The sanctions went into effect on Sunday.

Washington imposed a new round of sanctions of its own last Thursday, targeting financial institutions of any country that buys Iranian oil. However, it has exempted 20 economies from the sanctions for a period of 180 days.