Human Wrongs Watch
Russia Today*, 13 Jan – With US and UK warships gathering in the Persian Gulf and US troops deployed in Israel, tensions in the region keep rising. But a retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel explained to RT that Western powers are unlikely to invade Iran.
**Credit: Hégésippe Cormier aka Hégésippe | Wikimedia Commons
The Obama administration, through its secret channels, warned Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Khamenei that closing the Strait of Hormuz would be crossing a “red line” which will not be tolerated, New York Times reported on Thursday [12 Jan.].
According to the newspaper, the officials declined to disclose whether they had received any response from the Iranian side.
Last week, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin E. Dempsey, said that in case of the closure of the strait, through which 16 million barrels of oil pass every day, the United States will “take action and reopen the strait.” This would involve military means, including warship escorts, air strikes and minesweepers.
On Thursday [12 Jan.] Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that his country will not tolerate closure of the passage.
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 