UPDATED: How will we handle the upcoming Iran Navy incursion on US Territorial waters?

MAJ Chris N.: This all goes back to the questions: what are they going to do and who will handle it? I've out a number of scenarios up on this thread. Here is one for you to consider:

One of the Iranian supply ship comes very close to the 200NM line and drops bundles over the side. A USCG ship monitors the activity and after the Iranian ship clears the area the USCG picks up a few of the bundles and they contain drugs, weapons, etc. Is it a setup? Are they making a drop to someone? Does the USCG interdict?

They may have the right to travel but this is not travel their doing.

Its more to provoke us to action.

I don't think USCG can battle a ship alone, this calls for the USN.

I don't think they are sending 1 ship alone. Subs may be involved in this one. Iran knows they have Russian support so they might have plans in mind they don't want to talk about. Next they are capable or nuclear weapons and no one knows if the subs they may send alone may contain those weapons. Under these conditions Iran may feel gusty in sending a ship(s) close enough to my neighborhood.

In diplomacy its called "reciprocity". Our Navy operates in their neighborhood, so they send their Navy to operate in our neighborhood to show they are equal.

In reality they are  doing it to embarrass the United States in the world community, maybe to provoke an incident, or worse. The question remains: who is going to handle this? Navy? Coast Guard?

Thank you for this article, SGT Huff! Good research. A few observations:

1. Looks like it substantiates some of the NOB observations we have received from some of our RP contributors: 1 Avland class frigate (the Sabalan) and their largest supply ship, the 33,000 ton Kharg; make up the valiant Iranian fleet, bob-bob-bobbing along to our shores.

2. SGT Huff, rust buckets they may be; but never, ever, underestimate or dismiss a threat. The USS Cole had a hole blown in it by a motor boat. That shaggy guy on the motor bike coming near the check point in Helmand Province, you can blow him away, no problem, right? Wave him by. Beginning with the Trojan Horse, military history is replete with folks who let their guard down or who thought they were more powerful, and found out the hard way that it wasn't necessarily so.

3. I agree with you that in the big picture, sinking these ships amounts to a couple minutes effort by the USCG and a hefty fine from the EPA for polluting the ocean waters and failing to submit an environmental impact statement first.  However, our sniffers should be working this fleet over and, more importantly, we need to find out just what they are REALLY up to, if anything.

4. Oh, one more thing to consider about the "naval cadets". In 1962, Russia was bringing "tourists" into Cuba by ship. US intelligence noticed that the tourists were all male, and when they left the docks they marched in formation, and they all wore plaid shirts. The plaids were the same color, but slightly different. After a few weeks, the tourist "plaid code" was broken: the larger the plaid, the higher the rank, and the tourists were there to man the nuclear missiles.

5. Finally, as an intelligence guy, I have to disagree with you about the worrying on the Iranians. I could paint 25 scenarios involving these yahoos that are not only plausible, but would make your skin crawl, and none of them would involve direct combat between them and US Naval or CG forces.