Iran tests rockets in the Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. naval presence is not just aircraft carriers and destroyers, which were supposedly threatened by this “provocative” test. U.S. nuclear armed submarines are often present in the Sea of Oman, also off the coast of Iran. A French frigate, the U.S. destroyer USS Bulkeley and other commercial traffic were also in the area at the time of Saturday’s incident, the U.S. Central Command said.

Iran denied firing rockets last week near a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Strait of Hormuz, calling the accusation by Washington a “lie”.

The alleged incident comes after Iran and world powers led by the USA agreed a landmark deal to limit the Islamic republic’s nuclear programme in exchange for lifting economic sanctions, set to end in early 2016.

“Firing weapons so close to passing coalition ships and commercial traffic within an internationally recognised maritime traffic lane is unsafe, unprofessional, and inconsistent with global maritime law”, said Commander Kevin Stephens, a US Navy spokesman. The Iranian military released a video of the October launch as well as a video showing an underground network of tunnels where missiles are allegedly being stored.

The US Navy’s 5th Fleet is based in nearby Bahrain.

US officials have said the Treasury Department retains a right under the nuclear agreement to blacklist Iranian entities suspected of involvement in missile development.

Some U.S. critics of the deal have said the Iran cannot be trusted to comply – however proponents of the deal say Iran’s actions can be verified and that progress seems to be on track.

A U.S. military official said an Iranian vessel had test-fired several rockets near three Western warships including the aircraft carrier. “Iran’s missile programme has no connection to the (nuclear) agreement”, state television quoted Ansari as saying. It conducts anti-piracy patrols in the greater Gulf and serves as a regional counterbalance to Iran.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said such new penalties would nullify the nuclear accord.

Fox News was first to report the November 21 launch of a Ghadr-110, a medium-range ballistic missile with a range of 1,200 miles, capable of striking USA military assets in the region as well as Israel. “We need to ensure that USA forces are postured to respond to Iranian aggression and finally adopt a comprehensive strategy to counter Iran’s malign influence in the Middle East”. It is important for the anti-war movement in the U.S.to emphasize that the aggressor in this conflict is not Iran; it is the U.S.