March is transit Day for the Next Carrier through the Strait of Hormuz !

Panetta: USS Enterprise carrier group to transit Hormuz in March 
DEBKAfile Special Report January 22, 2012, 5:58 PM (GMT+02:00)

Tags:  Leon Panetta   US aircraft carriers   Iran nuclear   Strait of Hormuz 

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta aboard the USS Enterprise

Three weeks after Tehran threatened action against any US aircraft carrier entering the Strait of Hormuz, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta disclosed Sunday, Jan. 22, that the USS Enterprise Carrier Strike Group is heading for the Persian Gulf and would steam through the strategic strait in March. This was a direct message to Tehran that the US would continue to deploy ships there.

DEBKAfile's military sources report that the Iranian threat was issued on Jan 4. The USS Stennis aircraft carrier passed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Sea of Oman on Dec. 28 during a big Iranian naval exercise Velyate 90 and was then prevented by the threat from re-entering. That was the last time an American warship navigated the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil is shipped to market.

However Panetta, on his first visit to a carrier during operations at sea, clad in the uniform of the ship's crew,  told an audience of 1,700 personnel that the US would maintain a fleet of 11 carriers in the Persian Gulf despite budget pressures.

"That's what this carrier is all about. That's the reason we maintain a presence in the Middle East… We want them to know that we are fully prepared to deal with any contingency and it's better for them to try to deal with us through diplomacy."

DEBKAfile's Washington sources note that Panetta was the first high-ranking administration official to give Tehran an ultimatum: Accept the American offer to negotiate terms for halting your nuclear weapon program, or face up to America's mighty fleet of American aircraft carriers.

 "Our view is that the carriers, because of their presence, because of the power they represent, are a very important part of our ability to maintain power projection both in the Pacific and in the Middle East," said the defense secretary.

His statement gave Iran a time frame for responding to the US ultimatum, just over a month. If by March, Tehran has not accepted the offer to negotiate, President Barack Obama will order the Enterprise to sail through the Strait of Hormuz.

Saturday, Jan. 21, the Washington Post disclosed that Obama had sent a special emissary to Tehran with an oral message proposing that Iran join the United States for resumed nuclear negotiations.

The emissary was not named – although there was some speculation that the Turkish Foreign Minister was chosen for the mission - nor was Iran's reply revealed.

According to the WP, the message ran as follows: The United States and the international community have a strong interest in the free flow of commerce and freedom of navigation in all international waterways… Since taking office, the president has made it clear that he is willing to engage constructively and seriously with Iran about its nuclear program.
Also on Saturday, Iran's Revolutionary Guards stated it considered the likely return of US warships to the Gulf part of its routine activity.

Some American and Israeli media interpreted this as Iran climbing down from its truculent threat to US aircraft carriers entering the Strait of Hormuz. DEBKAfile's Iranian sources don't think so. The Guards issued their statement only after they saw the USS Stennis, the object of their threat, exiting the Gulf Friday, Jan. 20, and decided it was the Americans who had backed down.

Panetta's comments Sunday aimed at correcting that impression and making it very clear to Tehran that although the Stennis was gone, the Enterprise would take its place and be "fully prepared to deal with any contingency."

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And this tidbit on Israel's thinking about Iran and how they will let us know their timing for any attack - we will get 12 hours notice.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/iran-puts-us-and-israel-on-collision-course/story-e6frg6so-1226250759312

ISRAEL has warned the US's top general that it will give Washington just 12 hours' notice if it decides to launch a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities.

The refusal to give more advance warning, which would prevent the US blocking the raid, is the latest sign of a breakdown of trust between the two allies over Israel's response to Iranian ambitions to develop nuclear weapons.

The impasse was highlighted after a meeting in Tel Aviv between General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, and Ehud Barak, the Israeli Defence Minister, last week.

This followed a stormy transatlantic conversation between President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in which Mr Netanyahu turned down Mr Obama's request for early warning of an attack on Iran.

Mr Netanyahu suspects that Mr Obama, fearful of soaring energy prices, will go to any lengths to stop an attack going ahead before the US presidential election in November.