February 20th, 2012 by Oman Views

U.S. Drew a Clear Line for Iran : It Won’t Dare Cross It

COMMENTARY| There is nothing like waking up on Monday morning to the latest round of threats from the Iranian navy to shut off the world’s oil supply. To hear it speak, we’d all think it were a world superpower in the water.

Fortunately, Iran is not. But that hasn’t stopped it from preparing a new offensive weapon, Reuters reported. The latest assault on freedom of the seas appears to come in the form of small attack craft the Iranian navy is arming with a single bomb to be used on suicide attack runs against large U.S. Navy ships.

As World War II as that sounds, that’s what the U.S. naval commander said was discovered.

Vice Admiral Mark Fox commands the U.S. Fifth Fleet in the Gulf region. He is comfortable there is nothing Iran can muster to close the vital Strait of Hormuz to international shipping. I like that confidence – it shows all the billions we spend on the Navy haven’t gone to waste.

Fox said he believes Iran could be a nuisance for a brief period but it had no weapon or strategy the U.S. couldn’t handle.

There is no doubt that should Iran lose its mind and attack a U.S. vessel – or any vessel for that matter – the response from Fox’s forces would be overwhelming, immediate and complete. With that strategy, the U.S. would insure there wasn’t a second attempt from Iran.

But rest assured: Tehran already knows this. That is why it contains its attacks to diplomatic salvos that are noted but largely ignored. Somehow, I believe the U.S. position and the point of no return have been very clearly communicated to all the powers that be in the Islamic Republic.

There is little doubt Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad knows how far the U.S. is going to allow him to push the issue – and how we will respond if he crosses the line.

After 10 years of watching U.S. capabilities and commitment to the region, Iran has learned to never cross the line – at least not the line the world’s only superpower has drawn.

By Dan McGinnis | Yahoo! Contributor Network

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