The U.S. Navy is building up its forces in the Persian Gulf as a way of preventing Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz is vital for the importation of oil from the Middle East. There's concern Iran will shut down the Strait in response to increasing international sanctions prompted by its nuclear program.
The Los Angeles Times reports the Navy is "rushing" to the Gulf dozens of unmanned underwater craft called Sea Fox submersibles.
In addition, according to the Christian Science Monitor, the Navy has doubled the number of its minesweepers in the region.
As Home Post reported back in March, four of those minesweepers are San Diego-based ships. They are the USS Sentry (MCM 3), USS Devastator (MCM 6), USS Pioneer (MCM 9), and USS Warrior (MCM 10).
An anonymous Defense Department official told the New York Times:
“The message to Iran is, ‘Don’t even think about it.’ Don’t even think about closing the strait. We’ll clear the mines. Don’t even think about sending your fast boats out to harass our vessels or commercial shipping. We’ll put them on the bottom of the gulf.”
