Iran’s Silent Force and the US Navy Take Centre Stage

Abstract

In the Tanker War, Iraqi pilots focused on Iranian strategic targets. These included its fleet and oil-export facilities, foreign chartered tankers which operated in the shuttle service, and those lifting Iranian oil. Iranian retaliatory assaults had been unable to restrain Iraq’s onslaught. Quite the contrary, it escalated relendessly as the war continued, and curiously, did not attract world condemnation, whereas Iran’s attacks were increasingly denounced as endangering international shipping, especially by Washington. Circumstances suggested that it became evident to Iran that it needed to orchestrate a different response.