• The US military is sending forces to the Persian Gulf in response to Iran’s seizure of oil tankers.
• The deployments have been compared to a US operation in 1987-1988 to defend tankers from Iranian attacks.
• Today, however, Iran fields a much different military, and the situation in the Gulf has changed, experts say.

Tensions are rising in the Persian Gulf, where the US is deploying additional air and naval forces to deter Iranian seizures of commercial tanker ships.

The deployment has led to renewed fears of conflict between the US and Iran, drawing comparisons to another clash 35 years ago that was a decisive victory for the US and a devastating defeat for Iran.

In late April, as part of its sanctions-enforcement effort, the US confiscated a tanker loaded with Iranian oil bound for China. Days later, Iran responded by seizing a Marshall Islands-flagged tanker. In July, the US Navy said it had prevented Iranian seizures of two other tankers and that “Iran has harassed, attacked or seized nearly 20 internationally flagged merchant vessels” since 2021.

In recent weeks, the US has deployed F-35 and F-16 fighter jets to the Gulf along with warships and 3,000 Marines and sailors. The Biden administration is even considering putting Marines on merchant vessels to prevent Iranian seizures.

Earlier this month, during drills near an Iranian-controlled island in the Gulf, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards navy unveiled new naval vessels armed with missiles with a reported range of 370 miles — likely a deliberate display of capability.

The rising tensions and military buildup have led to comparisons to Operation Earnest Will, which saw US warships deploy to the Gulf from 1987 to 1988 to escort reflagged Kuwaiti tankers that Tehran had been targeting throughout the second half of the Iran-Iraq War.

In tandem with Earnest Will, the US launched the covert Operation Prime Chance to expose and prevent Iranian mine-laying in the Gulf. The first tanker to be escorted during Earnest Will, the SS Bridgeton, struck an Iranian mine on July 24, 1987.

There were clashes and confrontations between US and Iranian forces throughout Earnest Will, the biggest of them during Operation Praying Mantis, which the US launched four days after guided-missile frigate USS Samuel B. Roberts struck an Iranian mine on April 14, 1988.

Operation Praying Mantis was the US’s largest naval action since World War II. During the hours-long fight, US forces sank the Iranian frigate Sahand and crippled the frigate Sabalan, which was intentionally left afloat to avoid further escalation. More than 50 IRGCN and Iranian Navy personnel were killed, while the US lost one SeaCobra helicopter and its two crew members.

Read more on the original:

https://www.businessinsider.com/operation-praying-mantis-risks-of-us-iran-conflict-persian-gulf-2023-8