Following recent US warnings of confrontation in the Persian Gulf, the US is now holding live-fire training operations in the area, involving helicopter gunships and amphibious groups. Officials touted it as a chance to demonstrate the “awesome firepower” of US weapons.
This comes following President Trump’s talk of shooting down Iranian ships that get too close, and a more recent Navy admonishment that they’d consider any boat that gets close an act of aggression. There have been no serious incidents in weeks, despite the US comments.
The US statements appeared to anticipate a confrontation, and this live-fire might either be another round of US hostility in the region. That said, the exercise seems to be garnering limited attention, and is seen as more of the same from the US.
The big result of such exercises is often the deployment of more US ships and arms into a region for such exercises, and in the Persian Gulf, such deployments have a nasty way of becoming permanent.
Talk about burning cash….
Iran should schedule a “live fire” exercise off the US Coast
Absolutely. Wtf is our military doing there when our economy is falling apart
“Your” military?
Oh no. That would be considered provocative.
that wouldn’t work out too well for them.
Imagine if Russia, China, Iran or any other countries military holds live-fire drills and exercises in the Gulf of Mexico, at the US west or east coast.
“This complex coordination involving SOCCENT, Marine Corps and Navy forces further expands our capability to defend ourselves against any threats we might encounter while operating lawfully in support of maritime security and our regional partners in the Arabian Gulf,” Lesher continued.
Sure, “operating lawfully”. So we wouldn’t have a problem with Iran, or any other country, operating lawfully off our coast in international waters supporting maritime security with enough military assets to do major damage to our country? And lets say they did this while unilaterally dropping out of the JCPOA, imposing killer sanctions on us, assassinating one of our top generals and their leader flippantly threatening to obliterate us on multiple occasions? But of course we would sit idly by without so much as a peep.
An elite U.S. Marine unit conducted a live-fire drill in the Persian Gulf region that was meant to show Iran the level of stupidity by the US admin.
What better way to celebrate Memorial Day than with a high octane exercise of Gulf of Tonkin-style larping?