MANAMA, Bahrain — The top U.S. Navy official in the Persian Gulf said Sunday that he takes Iran’s military capabilities seriously but insists his forces are prepared to confront any Iranian aggression in the region.
Vice Adm. Mark Fox, commander of the 5th Fleet, told reporters at the naval force’s Bahrain headquarters that the Navy has “built a wide range of potential options to give the president” and is “ready today” to confront any hostile action by Tehran.
He did not outline specifically how the Navy might answer an Iranian strike or an effort to shut the entrance to the Persian Gulf, though any response would likely involve the two U.S. aircraft carriers and other warships cruising the waters off Iran.
“We’ve developed very precise and lethal weapons that are very effective, and we’re prepared,” Fox said.“We’re just ready for any contingency.”
Faced with tightening Western sanctions, Iranian officials have stepped up threats to close the Strait of Hormuz if the country’s oil exports are blocked. A fifth of the world’s oil supply passes through the narrow waterway, which is only about 30 miles across at its narrowest point.
Iran and Oman share control of the waterway, but it is considered an international strait, meaning free transit passage is guaranteed under international law.
But Iran’s Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said on Dec. 27 that his nation may close the strait if the U.S. and its allies impose stricter economic sanctions in an effort to halt his country’s nuclear research. U.S. officials, including Pentagon spokesman George Little, have said since that threat that they haven’t seen any Iranian moves to close the waterway.
“The Iranians have every bit as much right to operate in international waters as we do,” Fox said, and “we are very keen on not trying to over pressurize the situation.”
However, “the laying of mines in international waters [would be] an act of war,” he said. “We would, under the direction of the national leadership, prevent that from happening.’
Iran’s army chief, Gen. Ataollah Salehi, early last month warned an American warship not to return to the Persian Gulf shortly after the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis and another vessel left. Another carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, entered the Gulf without incident on Jan. 22.
Fox acknowledged that Iran’s military is “capable of striking a blow” against American forces in the Persian Gulf, particularly using unconventional means such as small attack boats or mines laid along shipping lanes.
“We’re not bulletproof. There are people that can take a swipe at us,” Fox said.
But he added that he has reminded officers under his command that they “have a right and an obligation of self defense” if attacked.
The admiral’s comments echo those of other Western officials, who say they will respond swiftly to any Iranian attempt to shut the Strait of Hormuz.
Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told CBS’ Face the Nation last month that Iranian forces could block shipping through the strait “for a period of time,” but added, “We can defeat that.”
In his briefing in the Bahraini capital Manama, Fox voiced support for the tiny island nation that has hosted U.S. Navy vessels for decades.
“They are a long-term partner and a very important piece of our ability to do our mission,” he said of the country.
Bahrain has been rocked by protests led by the country’s majority Shiites against the country’s Sunni monarchy that broke out in force a year ago. Street battles between security forces and protesters still flare up almost daily in the predominantly Shiite villages around the capital.
Fox’s command encompasses the bulk of the Middle East, including the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and a large swath of the Indian Ocean along the east African coast. There are about 25,000 sailors under his command.
The U.S. has four Avenger class mine-sweeping ships in the Gulf - the USS Ardent, USS Dextrous, USS Gladiator and USS Scout. The U.K.’s Royal Navy has another four vessels - the HMS Pembroke, HMS Middleton, HMS Quorn and HMS Ramsey, according to the U.S. 5th Fleet in Bahrain.
Mines in the strait could prompt insurance companies to raise rates on tankers using the waterway, which in turn could lead at least temporarily to higher oil prices.
U.S. officials who follow Iran for the U.S. Central Command estimated in 2008 that Iran possessed as many as 5,000 mines. It had an estimated 1,000 mines in the 1980s during its conflict with Iraq.
These include moored mines such as a variant that damaged a frigate, the USS Samuel Roberts, in April 1988 during the Operation Earnest Will escort of Kuwaiti and Saudi tankers.
The inventory also includes as many as 600 advanced mines bought from Russia, such as the MDM-3, which can be dropped from an aircraft. These “influence mines” can be programmed to detonate based on a ship’s acoustic signature.
The Navy would detect signs of Iranian mine-laying through surveillance aircraft and sensors, Fox said.
Information for this article was contributed by Adam Schreck of The Associated Press and by Tony Capaccio of Bloomberg News.
Front Section, Pages 1 on 02/13/2012