I think it's time to start a thread on this potential armed conflict, so here are a few article titles and links for a background, then we can go from here:

Iran plans new drills near Strait of Hormuz Jan. 6

Iran Able to Block Strait of Hormuz, General Dempsey Says on CBS Jan. 8

INSIGHT Believes Significant Supply Chain Problems Will Occur If Conflict Breaks Out in Strait of Hormuz Jan. 9

Navy Chief Says Strait of Hormuz Keeps Him Up At Night Jan. 10

An Oil Strategy in Case Iran Closes Strait of Hormuz Jan. 12

Hillary Clinton: Iran's Straits of Hormuz threats 'provocative and dangerous'
Calling it "the lifeline" that moves oil and gas around the world, US Secretary of State says Iran's threats to close the Strait of Hormuz were "provocative and dangerous."



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... erous.html


The brinkmanship with Iran in the Strait of Hormuz

The world became a much more jittery place this week as the U.S. and Iran launched their respective warships and rattled their rocket-laden sabres at each other in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, literally the Iranian coast.

snip

Even if U.S. naval and air forces were to quickly curtail an Iranian blockade, the very act would likely spark another global economic panic. Analysts predict oil would soar an additional $50 a barrel, causing panic inflation and currency wobbles around the world.

Every day seems to bring a new flashpoint. On Wednesday, another senior Iranian scientist connected to its uranium enrichment program was assassinated in a bomb attack that Tehran immediately blamed on Israel and the U.S.

con. here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2012 ... -iran.html


China Gets Cheaper Iranian Oil as U.S. Pays for Strait of Hormuz Patrols

Chinese refiners are likely to win discounts on Iranian crude contracts as buyers from other nations halt or reduce their purchases of Iranian oil to avoid being penalized under U.S. and European sanctions,

snip

the U.S. is bearing most of the cost of air and sea patrols and surveillance in the Strait of Hormuz, through which transit 17 million barrels a day of crude, or 20 percent of world supplies. China, the No. 2 importer of oil after the U.S., enjoys protection for the shipping lanes without paying a cent,

con. here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-1 ... trols.html


Britain warns Iran over Hormuz

Britain signaled it is prepared to use force to keep the Strait of Hormuz open despite Iranian threats.

British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said his country would not tolerate an Iranian move to close the 34-mile waterway through which 20 percent of the world’s oil passes.

con. here: http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/639 ... er-hormuz/

U.S. troops quietly surge into Middle East

David S. Cloud, Tribune Co.
Friday, January 13, 2012

Washington --

The Pentagon has quietly shifted combat troops and warships to the Middle East after the top American commander in the region warned that he needed additional forces to deal with Iran and other potential threats, U.S. officials said.

Marine Corps Gen. James Mattis, who heads U.S. Central Command, won White House approval for the deployments late last year after talks with the government in Baghdad broke down over keeping U.S. troops in Iraq, but the extent of the Pentagon moves is only now becoming clear.

Officials said the deployments are not meant to suggest a buildup to war, but rather are intended as a quick-reaction and contingency force in case a military crisis erupts in the standoff with Tehran over its suspected nuclear weapons program.

The Pentagon has stationed nearly 15,000 troops in Kuwait, adding to a small contingent already there. The new units include two Army infantry brigades and a helicopter unit - a substantial increase in combat power after nearly a decade in which Kuwait chiefly served as a staging area for supplies and personnel heading to Iraq.

The Pentagon also has decided to keep two aircraft carriers and their strike groups in the region.

Earlier this week, the American carrier Carl Vinson joined the carrier Stennis in the Arabian Sea, giving commanders major naval and air assets in case Iran carries out its recent threats to close the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic chokepoint in the Persian Gulf, where one-fifth of the world's oil shipments passes.

#Cut#


www.sfgate.com

Iran: We have evidence US behind scientist slaying

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian state television said Saturday that Tehran had evidence Washington was behind the latest assassination of one of its nuclear scientists.

In the fifth attack of its kind in two years, a magnetic bomb was attached to the door of 32-year-old Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan's car during the Wednesday morning rush-hour in the capital. His driver was also killed.

The United States has denied involvement in the killing and condemned it. Israel has declined to comment.

"We have reliable documents and evidence that this terrorist act was planned, guided and supported by the CIA," the Iranian foreign ministry said in a letter handed to the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, state TV reported.

"The documents clearly show that this terrorist act was carried out with the direct involvement of CIA-linked agents," it added.

The Swiss Embassy has represented U.S. interests in Iran since Tehran and Washington cut diplomatic ties shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

State TV said a "letter of condemnation" had also been sent to the British government, saying the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists had "started exactly after the British official John Sawers declared the beginning of intelligence operations against Iran."

Read more here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45996368/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

I am SORRY but ANY Evidence produced by the US at this point needs to be questioned by TWO other NATO Nations, not on the take from Isreal

The US and Isreal cannot be trusted after their WAR track records...

Are there any TWO other NATO nations not on the take from Israel?

Hahaha - right on the nail Blue!

Iran threatens Israel, U.S. over scientist killing

(CNN) -- Israel and the United States are "supporters of state terrorism" and will suffer a "punitive response" at an "opportune time," Iran's Press TV cited a top Iranian general as saying Sunday, days after an Iranian nuclear scientist was killed.

Iran will hold "the U.S., Britain and the Zionist regime accountable for their actions," said the deputy chairman of Iran's Joint Chiefs of Staff, Brig. Gen. Massoud Jazayeri.

Jazayeri said the assassination would not hinder Iran's progress towards strategic technologies, the government-run Press TV reported Sunday, following an interview with him on Saturday.

Read more here: http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/15/world/meast/iran-nuclear-scientist-killed/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

I just read a very interesting discussion on Democratic Underground about the US Warning Israel about Iran. The story is not what is important here, rather, some comments made by the user nadinebrzezinski are. The comments she made pointed me in the direction of the Russia/Syria/Iran alliance/connection.

After some reading and searching, I found the following:



Read more here: http://hotair.com/greenroom/archives/2012/01/08/are-russia-and-china-ready-to-play-a-new-great-game/

Here is the link to the discussion at DU:

U.S. Warns Israel on Strike
http://www.democraticunderground.com/101425683

I will only quote nadine's first post in the discussion. This is the post that really went ding ding ding to me!



Thoughts?

Iran warns region against "dangerous" stance on Hormuz
4:01pm EST

Iran's foreign minister warned Arab neighbors on Thursday not to put themselves in a "dangerous position" by aligning themselves too closely with the United States in the escalating dispute over Tehran's nuclear activity.

Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, used for a third of the world's seaborne oil trade, if pending Western moves to ban Iranian crude exports cripple its lifeblood energy sector, fanning fears of a slide into wider Middle East war.

con. here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/ ... 5Z20120119