Gulf security أمن الخليج العربي

الجمعة، 2 نوفمبر 2007

Basijis waves blocking Strait of Hormuz







Disrupt oil flows
Every time Iraq or Iran locked in a standoff with the West, the Arabian Gulf states become the ransom, hostages or victims. This time it's the world's oil supply and Gulf states only source of income. A top Iranian Military Commander warned on Monday ,Oct 29, 2007 that the forces of the Islamic Republic may stage Martyrdom Operations in the Arabian Gulf.
Brigadier General Ali Fahdavi deputy head of the Revolutionary Guards' naval forces noted IRGC's various plans for upgrading the combat abilities of the Basiji (volunteer) troops in naval warfare. It was more than a suggestion of possible suicide attacks on shipping in the narrow Strait of Hormuz. The area of Arabian Gulf and strategic Strait of Hormuz is such that a small operation can have a big outcome; General Fahdavi told a rally of the Basij religious militia that his troops are ready to fight enemy forces in the Arabian Gulf, and that Iran can stun enemies due to its geographical advantages in the strait.

The Basijis
Another reason to conceder this statement as another chapter of the war of wards between the U.S. and Iran is the Basijis force itself. The Basijis are a paramilitary force who loyally upholds Islamic revolutionary values. In the war with Iraq, they provided much of the manpower for the front. In peacetime, they help enforce Iran's strict Islamic dress and other moral codes.
The Question is about the specific role of the Basiji troops in possible engagement with enemy forces in the Arabian Gulf and their qualitative presence. And can this ideological wing of the Iranian military loaded with martyrdom-seeking spirit Disrupt oil flows?
The Commander said," IRGC Plans to upgrade the combat abilities of the Basiji in naval warfare. He is counting on small operation that can have a big outcome either by zodiac fast boats or by another form of suicide attacks.

Iran as a sea nation
Iran always have strong ambitions to control the Arabian Gulf without the capabilities to do so especially in sea power. From geographical point view Zagros mountains, with peaks between 4000 and 4500 meters, Zagros run from Northwest to South East, parallel with the Arabian Gulf and came as a wall that prevent the Iranian from reaching this sea .
All the maritime activities that took place were done by the Sunni Muslim Arabs living along the Arabian Gulf coastline in Persia; Hormozgān is one of the 30 provinces of Iran where the Sunni Muslim Arabs live. It is in the south of the country, facing Oman. Its area is 68475 km², and its provincial capital is Bandar Abbas. The province has 14 islands located in the Arabian Gulf, and 1000 km of coastline. The province has eleven major cities, Bandar Abbas where the location of the main base of the Iranian Navy, historically From 1740, control of the town was sold to Arab rulers, and from around 1780 it was controlled by the leaders of Muscat. Arabs also live in the other ports. Bandar Lengeh was for many generations a hereditary patrimony of the Juvasmi Arabs, and it was only in 1898 that they were expelled from the place by another Arabian force.Bastak also was a an arab port since Abbasids whom carried on the expansion of Bastak's rule until it included more than 60 villages and many islands in the Gulf. Many alliances were formed between the Bastaki rulers and the Arab rulers in UAE, Bahrain, Qatar. The population of Arab populated Hormozgān province in 2007was 1.5 million. The Arabian Amir of Kharg In the north of the gulf, Mir Mahna, was able to defeat the Dutch forces at his Kharg Island in late 18th century.

high-speed torpedo or Basijs boys
During Iran -Iraq war one of the secrets of Iran's success was the culture of sacrifice. The IRGC reportedly has over 120,000 forces and Iran says to have millions of Basijs who would enter military service in case of a military aggression against Iran. young Basijs boys on Zodiac fast boats doesn’t concerns us that much but the test firing of a high-speed torpedo's dose ; it said no submarine or warship can escape the Fajr-3 missile, and the new torpedo, called the "Hoot," or "whale," that could raise concerns over Iran's power in the Gulf, The Hoot's speed would make it about three or four times faster than a normal torpedo and as fast as the world's fastest known underwater missile, the Russian-made VA-111 Shkval, developed in 1995. It was not immediately known if the Hoot was based on the Shkval or not.
According to Gen. Ali Fadavi, the ships that fire the Iranian-made Hoot had radar-evading technology and that the torpedo - moving at 223 miles per hour - was too fast to elude .During Iran's war withIraq in the 1980s, Iranian ships attacked oil tankers in the Gulf, The U.S. and Iranian navies have had brush-ups during the Tanker War 1986 when U.S. warships moved into the Gulf to guard oil tankers,the new weapon gives Iran superiority against any warship in the region.Small operations can have a big impact in the strategic strait of Hormoz and the Arabian Gulf, but we have to remember that Iran did not disrupt oil flows in the Gulf for eight years during Iran-Iraq war and with oil prices reaching $100 the Iranians well reconsider that action.

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Gulf seurity أمن الخليج العربي

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تبين هذه المدونة كيف تمتع الخليج بأهمية كبيرة أدت إلى خلق عبء استراتيجي على أهله بصورة ظهرت فيها الجغرافيا وهي تثقل كاهل التاريخ وهي مدونة لاستشراف مستقبل الأمن في الخليج العربي The strategic importance of the Gulf region creates a strategic burden and show a good example of Geography as burden on history. This blog well examine this and forecast the Gulf's near future and events in its Iraq, Iran ,Saudi Arabia ,Kuwait, Bahrain ,Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman

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