IRAN UPDATE: USS NASSAU TAKES POSITION IN GULF REGION

According to DEBKAfile, military sources report that Washington has posted a third carrier opposite Iran's shores. The USS Nassau (LHA-4) is a Tarawa Class amphibious assault ship and is being accompanied by the USS Mesa Verde and USS Ashland. The USS Nassau (Harrier Carrier) can launch Marine AV-8B Harrier jets, AH-1W Super Cobra's, CH-46 Sea Knight's, CH-53 Sea Stallion's and the V-22 Osprey in combat situations. This mini armada adds about 4,000 Navy and Marine Corps personnel, bringing the total US strength in these waters to three carriers and 10,000 combat personnel.

The USS Harry S. Truman carrier strike group and it's twelve warships are reported to be cruising in the Arabian Sea near the Revolutionary Guards biggest naval base. It is this naval base that would most likely launch naval forces to shut down The Strait of Hormuz in the event of conflict. The Iranians have promised to shut down The Strait of Hormuz to commercial traffic and halt the trade of two-fifths of all global oil. If this were to happen, oil prices would most assuredly top $200.00 a barrel causing an already weak global economy to collapse. So it's logical that US naval forces would concentrate on this Revolutionary Guard naval base and try to prevent such a closure. The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and it's strike force is said to be further West of the USS Truman in the Arabian Sea.

The addition of the USS Nassau to the region shows there is growing pressure on the Obama Administration to prepare for military conflict with the Republic of Iran. The most recent sanctions that were passed by the UN are weak and will do nothing to deter Iran's nuclear ambitions. It is reported that Iran has enough uranium in it's stockpiles to produce two nuclear weapons and weak sanctions will not keep the Iranians from further enrichment. Check back soon for further updates!

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