Iran Flexes Muscles in Strait of Hormuz Amid Rising Tensions with Washington

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy has launched a fresh round of military exercises in the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important waterways, raising temperatures in a region already on edge over rising tensions between Tehran and Washington. IRGC officials announced the exercises– ‘Smart Control of the Strait of Hormuz’– as a demonstration of Iran’s ability to monitor and control movement through the narrow passage, reported by ISNA (Iranian Students News Agency). Why Is Iran Flexing Its Muscles In The Strait Of Hormuz The strait, roughly 33 kilometres wide at its narrowest point, is the only sea route connecting the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, and a critical channel for Iranian oil exports. According to the US Energy Information Administration , nearly 20 per cent of the world’s oil supply passes through it. The timing of these exercises is hard to ignore. The United States recently dispatched the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier battle group to the Middle East, adding to a growing American naval presence in the region. The Gerald R. Ford is set to join the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier battle group, which was sent to the area earlier in January, according to U.S. Department of War statements. Together, the two carrier groups represent a significant show of force in waters not far from Iran’s coastline. The IRGC has long used military drills in the Strait of Hormuz as a way of signalling its capability and resolve, particularly during periods of diplomatic strain. These exercises are as much about sending a political message as they are about operational readiness. Iranian drills come at a time when it is currently engaged with the US in diplomatic talks in Geneva. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is in Geneva, sitting across the table from American negotiators, in discussions centered on Iran’s nuclear program, and the subsequent removal of sanctions on the nation. The core of the talks, as reported by multiple outlets tracking the negotiations, involves a potential deal in which Iran would agree to remove or reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium in its entirety, and in exchange, would gain relief from the wide-ranging sanctions that have crippled its economy for years. The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, while speaking to Al Jazeera, said that if the US used force against the Islamic Nation, Tehran would target American bases. “If the Americans use force against us, they will receive force in return. The Islamic Republic is fully prepared but is not seeking war, and if war is imposed on us, we will respond," he said.