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Operation Earnest Will: Lessons on what it takes to escort tankers through the Strait of Hormuz
The 14-month US mission in the 1980s was massive and dangerous. A passenger airliner was accidentally shot down.
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Ships and tankers in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Musandam, Oman. Escorting them safely will require immense resources, says the writer.
PHOTO: REUTERS
James Stavridis
US President Donald Trump has halted the US Navy’s nascent effort to guide commercial ships out of the Persian Gulf – pending the Iranians’ response to his latest peace proposal. But don’t let the pause fool you.
Even in the very unlikely event Iran agrees to a compromise, it would be naive to assume Tehran will stick to it. Either way, over the next few months, the US will have to undertake significant maritime operations to ensure tankers can pass safely through the Strait of Hormuz, sweep it for mines, restore navigational coherence and wrest operational control from Iran.
