War and militarism are destroying the planet. But if we de-fund the Pentagon, we can save it.
10 Ways that the Climate Crisis and Militarism are Intertwined
read more
persian gulf
Could Trump Really Launch a War With Iran?
It’s unpopular at home and abroad, and regional politics don’t favor it. But we should take neocons like Bolton at their word.
Were the U.S. Boats Off Course in the Persian Gulf an Actual Example of the Mythical “Rogue Operation”?
How did the U.S. boats and personnel detained by Iran in the Persian Gulf wind up 50 miles off their route?
America’s Forgotten Naval War With Iran
Though you may remember its tragic conclusion: the downing of an Iran airliner by the U.S. warship Vincennes.
Review: China and the Persian Gulf
China’s rise, according to many analysts, has been the world’s most significant geopolitical and economic development of the 21st century. Central to China’s rise has been the energy it needs to fuel economic growth. Importing over 42 percent of its crude oil from the Persian Gulf, Beijing views the region as vital for this economic development. China growing influence in the world’s most oil-rich region is the subject of Bryce Wakefield and Susan L. Levenstein’s China and the Persian Gulf: Implications for the United States.
The Undersea World of Ali Khamenei
In the middle of all the discussion of the possibility of attacks on Iran and a war in the Persian Gulf region, one factor in particular has been largely overlooked. The Iranians have evidently fallen in love with submarines.
Iran: Outgunned in the Gulf
Iran has threatened to close the Straits of Hormuz – a “choke point” in the Persian Gulf through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil passes – if the West imposes sanctions against Iran’s petroleum exports. This threat is not without historic parallel. In 1941, Japan bombed Pearl Harbor and launched its war against the United States after Washington blockaded oil shipments to Tokyo. Japan relied on 80 percent of its oil from the United States; oil sales make up 80 percent of Iran’s exports. A complete oil embargo on Iran, just as it would have done to Imperial Japan, would result in economic calamity.
Avoiding a War in the Persian Gulf
With tensions between the United States and Iran rising over Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program, the prospect of an accidental or deliberate military provocation in the region has increased dramatically. Direct military conflict between the two sides is more likely now than at any point since diplomatic relations were severed in 1980.
When Diplomacy With Iran Was Not Only Legal, But Painless
The Iran Threat Reduction Act’s provision for outlawing diplomacy with Iran could explode in our faces in the event of incident in the Persian Gulf.
The Persian Gulf: an “Aquatic Tinderbox”
Due to limited communication between them, a misunderstanding between the navies of Iran and the West could turn into an international incident. Russ Wellen at the Foreign Policy in Focus blog Focal Points.