That's exactly why the tanker escort promises were quickly abandoned.
reply> Where does the Strait begin and end?
replyPractically speaking, the Musandam Peninsula [1]. Open that to the sea and you make everyone except Iraq and Kuwait happy.
Much further than that. At least 200nm using drone ISR to cue Shaheeds, 500nm with satellite ISR. (With a 90kg warhead.) There are also many fishing vessels in the region, originating from a number of countries (e.g. Oman, Iran, Pakistan) which can report sightings of VLCCs.
replyOnce you have sighted the ship it is an undergrad project to implement target classification and recognition using off the shelf algorithms. It doesn't need a fast GPU because naval engagements are very slow, a cheap mobile phone can do it.
Is a no-fishing-boat zone feasible? Like a no-fly zone? Or do you need a partner to pot innocent fishermen?
replyHow many innocent fishermen are you willing to murder? And of course, the famine in Balochistan that would follow. Maybe not a great idea if you want an uprising of the Balochi against the Persians.
replyOman is a regional ally, but they would not stand idly by while their citizens are killed.
at a range where short-range anti-ship missiles can reach ships from Iranian territory.
replySo, the entire gulf?
replyActual short-range weapons can't cross the strait. The ones that can don't care much about the difference on the rest of the place.
Not even short range. With a sensor feed from an ally they can project into the Gulf of Oman, and via Yemen the entire BaM.
replyDoubtful China would provide that because they want oil, but likely Russia would, because they want high oil prices and American humiliation.
And boats, amd submerged drones, and mines...
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