Allies 'Go After' Iran as Beefed-up Naval Force Sails for the Persian Gulf

Allies 'Go After' Iran as Beefed-up Naval Force Sails for the Persian Gulf
January 17, 2007 The Times Richard Beeston

Britain is joining an American military campaign to blunt Iranian influence in Iraq and the Gulf.

In a move likely to heighten tension in an already volatile part of the world, US forces have been ordered to detain Iranian agents in Iraq and to strengthen substantially America’s military presence in the Gulf.

Two Royal Navy minehunters have arrived in the Gulf to reinforce a naval frigate on patrol in the area.

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier group entered the Gulf in December. It will be joined by the USS John C. Stennis carrier group.

This is the first time since the invasion of Iraq four years ago that the US has deployed two carrier strike groups in the Gulf at one time. In addition, President Bush has ordered the deployment of an air defence battalion equipped with Patriot missile batteries to protect America’s Gulf Arab allies from possible air attack from Iran. Britain’s contribution is two minehunters HMS Blyth and HMS Ramsey, which will remain in the Gulf for an unusually-long two-year mission to keep shipping routes open in the event that Iran attempts to block oil exports.