Iran threatens to sink U.S. warship

Bluster.

Iran threatens to sink U.S. warship

I assume this is primarily a show for the benefit of the rest of the Middle Eastern world, designed to show who has the muscle in the region. And I assume the Iranians are feeling their oats in part because they have no expectation that Obama will make them pay for acting like this.



On Saturday, they sent their warships to the foot of our maritime borders.http://www.caintv.com/breaking-iranian-warships-appr Whatever the reason, they’re only getting bolder as we move into Day 3 of . . . whatever this is:http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/iranian-navy-commander-vows-sink-us-fleet-after-warship-deployment-near-american-maritime-1435758

A top Iranian navy commander has stepped up threats against the US, vowing to sink America’s Fifth Fleet in the Middle East if provoked.

  The threats came after Iran reportedly deployed warships, apparently in response to America’s movement of ships into Iranian territory.



According to a senior naval commander, Afshin Rezayee, the Iranian deployment of a destroyer and a helicopter-carrying supply ship was a direct response to the presence of American naval forces in the Persian Gulf.

  The Fifth Fleet of the United States Navy is responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean.

  “Iran’s military fleet is approaching the United States’ maritime borders, and this move has a message,” Rezayee was quoted as saying.

  Rezayee’s belligerent stance was echoed by Ali Fadavi, navy commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps, who warned the US not to encroach further into his country’s waters.

  “The Americans can sense by all means how their warships will be sunk with 5,000 crews and forces in combat against Iran and how they should find its hulk in the depths of the sea,” Fadavi told the country’s quasi-official Fars news agency.

There’s something to be said for not overreacting to obvious bluster like this. Iran is not going to actually pick a fight with us because they’re going to be annihilated if they do. I don’t think. I suppose you could argue that they kid who goes up and picks a fight with the bully earns a modium of respect even if he comes out of the scrum with a black eye. But it’s one thing for Iran to act like they can take us. It’s another thing for them to give us the chance to prove they really can’t. But if we’re the ones who overreact and start talking smack - or worse yet, shooting - then it’s on us.

But you do have to let a noisy little gnat like this know that they would be wise to take it down a notch. Does
the Obama foreign policy/national security team have the slightest idea how to do that? I don’t think so either