U.S. LAUNCHED NAVY DRILLS NEAR IRAN

PanARMENIAN.Net
28.03.2007 18:02 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Mounting tensions between Iran and the West have
accelerated war games the U.S. navy is conducting in the Gulf, a
spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet said on Wednesday, reports Reuters.

A second U.S. aircraft carrier began exercises in the Gulf on Tuesday
— the first time two such vessels have been sent to patrol Gulf
waters since the U.S.-led war on Iraq in 2003.

The U.S. exercises come amid rising tension with Iran over its nuclear
program and its capture of British sailors.

"The planning accelerated in conjunction with what was going on, but
it was absolutely not the sole determinant … We are here exercising
every day," said Kevin Aandahl, a spokesman for the U.S. Fifth Fleet
based in the Gulf island of Bahrain.

"If Iran takes away a message from this, that’s up to them… Frankly
the message is a regional one that reinforces that our presence is
to provide stability and security."

Iran captured 15 British military personnel last week, accusing them
of illegally entering Iranian waters, and British Prime Minister Tony
Blair has warned that the dispute would enter a "different phase"
unless they are freed.

Britain said on Wednesday that satellite data showed the sailors and
marines were seized 1.7 miles inside Iraqi waters.

Iran, which began a week of drills using submarines and small
missile-carrying ships in the Gulf last Thursday, said via state
television that it was not concerned about the U.S. naval exercises,
but was watching them closely.

"Our exercise is absolutely a short notice exercise.

We didn’t give a lot of advance warning to it, but it’s part of our
readiness to be able to conduct these types of exercises," Aandahl
told Reuters.

Aandahl said only U.S. ships were involved in the drills, which include
anti-submarine, anti-surface and mine warfare exercises. The decision
to begin exercises, which are expected to continue for a "few days",
was made in the last two weeks.

The Fifth Fleet base in Bahrain is the command center for the roughly
30 U.S. and 15 allied ships patrolling regional waters, including
areas right on Iran’s doorstep.

In February Iran said it had tested missiles that could sink "big
warships" in the Gulf.