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The Mideast-based commanders of the U.S., British and French navies transited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday aboard an American warship, a sign of their unified approach to keep the crucial waterway open after Iran seized two oil tankers.

Tensions in the Persian Gulf have been volatile since Iran's nuclear deal with world powers collapsed, following the U.S.' unilateral withdrawal five years ago. The incredibly rare, joint trip by the three navy chiefs aboard the USS Paul Hamilton, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, saw three fast boats of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard approach the vessel at one point.

Guardsmen stood by uncovered machine guns on their decks, while sailors aboard the Paul Hamilton similarly stood by loaded machine guns as others shot photographs and video of the vessels. A journalist with The Associated Press accompanied the allied naval commanders.

While the Guard kept its distance from both the Paul Hamilton and the passing British frigate HMS Lancaster, their presence showed just how tense passage for vessels can be in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of global oil supplies passes.

Iran has seized or attacked 15 ships in the last two years. Eight seizures and seven attacks," Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, who oversees the U.S. Navy's Mideast-based 5th Fleet, told the AP. "So the shipping industry is mindful of what the security posture looks like in the region. We have the ability to positively impact that influence and thats what were doing now.

US Navy sailors work in the Combat Information Center of the USS Paul Hamilton in the Strait of Hormuz, May 19, 2023.

Cooper said Iran's Guard ships Friday came within 915 meters of the Paul Hamilton, which is based out of San Diego.

The U.S. has viewed securing the Middle East's waterways, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, as key since then-President Jimmy Carter's 1980 speech vowing to use military force to protect American interests in the wider Persian Gulf. While focused then on the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan, the Carter Doctrine's vow to allow the free movement of Middle East oil now pits the U.S. against Iran, which has seized a series of oil tankers since the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers.

Last week, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists that America planned to make a series of moves to bolster our defensive posture in the Persian Gulf, while criticizing Iran's recent seizures of tankers. Cooper said the joint trip on the Paul Hamilton represented part of that push, with the aim of having more coalition ships passing through the strait on a regular basis.

"The volume of commerce that flows through the Strait of Hormuz it is critical to the worlds economy, he said.

For its part, Iran long has bristled at the American presence in the region. After Kirby's remarks, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani issued a lengthy statement accusing the U.S. of creating and intensifying instability and insecurity in the Persian Gulf region for decades with its interventionist and destructive policies.

There was no immediate reaction in Iranian state media nor from the Guard about the Paul Hamilton's trip from the Persian Gulf out through the strait to the Gulf of Oman. However, it was unlikely the Iranians immediately knew that the American, British and French commanders had been aboard the vessel, though at least one Guard member aboard the fast boats was studying the Paul Hamilton with a pair of binoculars.

The British frigate HMS Lancaster sails as Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessels follow it in the Strait of Hormuz, May 19, 2023.

On the trip through the Strait of Hormuz, at least one Iranian drone watched the Paul Hamilton. Meanwhile, a U.S. Navy Boeing P-8 Poseidon also was overhead. U.S. forces also routinely fly drones in the region as well, while a Navy task force also has put some drones out to sea.

Securing the Strait of Hormuz has been a challenge since the Carter Doctrine and deadly. The so-called 1980s Tanker War involved American naval ships escorting reflagged Kuwaiti oil tankers through the gulf and the strait after Iranian mines damaged vessels in the region. The U.S. Navy even fought a one-day naval battle against Iran at the time, as well as accidentally shot down an Iranian commercial airliner, killing 290 people.

Former President Donald Trump's decision to unilaterally withdraw from Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers sparked new challenges from Iran in the region. Tehran seized tankers, while the Navy also blamed Iran for again using mines against shipping. The Trump administration came up with its Sentinel program, which also involved it and partner nations escorting ships in the region. But tensions with Europe after the nuclear deal's collapse didn't see a wide buy-in with the program.

This renewed effort under President Joe Biden does not appear to involve escorting individual ships but trying to put more allied forces in the region. Already, the U.S. has brought A-10 Thunderbolt IIs and a submarine in the region to try to deter Iran.

America also could bring more ships into the Persian Gulf. The end of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as the war in Ukraine and American concern over China's expansion in the South China Sea, has halted routine carrier deployments in recent years.

For now, Cooper pointed to the presence of his British and French colleagues Commodore Philip Dennis, the commander of the United Kingdom Maritime Component Command, and Vice Adm. Emmanuel Slaars, the joint commander of the French forces deployed in the Indian Ocean as a sign of the resolve of America and its partners.

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US, Allied Naval Commanders Join in Show of Force Against Iran - Voice of America - VOA News

A few weeks ago, I was honored to host His Highness Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, son of the Shah of Iran, and a leader and advocate of the principles of freedom, democracy and human rights for the Iranian people.

His recent visit was a symbolic renewal of the historic, natural and robust ties between the Iranian and Israeli peoples.

Our peoples do not just share a rich and vibrant history and fraternity, but also a common enemy in the extremist autocracy of the ayatollah regime.

It is this regime that spends its time, resources and funds murdering innocent people in the streets of Tehran, Isfahan, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Beirut, Sanaa and many other places in the region and beyond.

It uses an iron fist to repress the Iranian people at home and utilizes terrorism, destruction and mayhem abroad for the singular reason of maintaining its vice-like grip on power to further and sow and its destructionist and extremist ideology.

We have directly witnessed this murderous ideology over the past week with the indiscriminate firing of well over 1,000 deadly rockets at Israeli communities by the Iranian proxy Islamic Jihad.

It is precisely this Machiavellian determination to shed blood that underpins the ayatollah regime, a regime spending untold amounts of money in furthering its capacity to create greater destruction and the massacre of innocents that is at the foundation of its thirst for a nuclear weapons capability.

Thankfully, we see the Iranian people rising up against this radical and terrorist regime that seeks to control every aspect of the lives of ordinary Iranians.

Zan, Zendegi, Azadi Woman, Life, Freedom.

These are the cries we hear from the Iranian people here in Israel and around the world.

Israelis from all different backgrounds have joined together to support the Iranian people in their desperate plea for liberty. Thousands have demonstrated in Israel to send a message of hope and fraternity to the Iranian people in their struggle against tyranny.

As a traditional and observant Jewish woman, I stand in strong and righteous solidarity with the Iranian women in their protests against the forced wearing of the hijab.

We see our brothers and sisters in Iran and we know that their successful protests are panicking the ayatollah regime, which is flailing under the weight of deep institutional corruption, a plunging economy and a dated infrastructure that is not serving the people.

As it has been for so many others in the region, Israel has answers to help the Iranian nation face its greatest challenges, whether in the fields of fighting air pollution, renewable energy or water resources.

LESS THAN three years ago, Israel and many nations in the region, including the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, proved that we will not let the past and others dictate a brighter future.

The Abraham Accords gave voice to a vision of a reshaped region that no longer pitted Jews against Muslims, but one that places the emphasis on those who wish to build a better future against those who just seek to destroy.

Now that these bridges between the Jewish state and Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa have been built or restored, steps are being taken on a weekly or monthly basis to ensure that all of the peoples of the region benefit from this peace and unity.

In Israel, we know and see that the overwhelming majority of the people of Iran want to join hands with us to build a better future for themselves and their children, but we also know that the ayatollah regime leads the axis of destruction in our region.

This is amply demonstrated by the billions of dollars that could be used by the Ayatollah regime to build a better future and help ordinary Iranians who struggle to survive rather than funding its terrorist proxies, like the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ansar Allah, Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

It is this axis that fights Israel and the Iranian people daily, and it does not care how much blood it must shed to achieve its desired regional dominance.

That is why the Iranian and Israeli peoples must stand together against our common enemy.

The Jewish people remember well how the historic Persian leader, Cyrus the Great, freed our ancestors from Babylonian captivity and helped them rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.

Now it is our turn to repay the favor by exploring ways to fight together against the modern tyranny of the ayatollah regime, freeing the Iranian people from its scourge and paving a better future for them, us, and all the other people in our region who are oppressed and molested by them and their proxies.

This is the commitment we make as we begin to renew ties between the Iranian and Israeli peoples.

The writer is Israels intelligence minister.

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Israel and Iranian people can fight the Iran regime together - opinion - The Jerusalem Post

Its all about Iran. Military commentators appearing in round-the-clock media coverage last week acknowledged that the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) suffered a severe blow in Operation Shield and Arrow, but stressed Israels lack of a long-term Gaza Strip strategy. What most of these pundits fail to understand is that its all about Iran.

Preventing a nuclear Iran was, is and will be the only show in town for the foreseeable future. Everything else is secondary, including the periodic skirmishes on Israels southern and northern borders. This is why the focus is not on defusing Irans proxies but rather on preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

For weeks leading up to the operation, Iran propagated that Israel was weak. The demise of the Zionist entity will come sooner than anticipated, read the headline in the Iranian regimes mouthpiece daily publication, Kayhan, alluding to anti-government protests in Israel, including calls for civil disobedience by former IDF generals. Israel is on the verge of civil war and their armed forces are crumbling from within, was reiterated in Irans state-run press.

Operation Shield and Arrow proved Iran wrong. Not only did Israel show, once again, that in times of crisis, Israelis stand united, but the campaign also exposed Irans weakness.

It was different from previous cycles and can change the course of the future in the Middle East. We saw a unique convergence of precise intelligence, and technological and operational capabilities with proactive government decision-making. Within three seconds, the top three Palestinian Islamic Jihad commanders were simultaneously targeted in three different locations. There is probably no other military with such proven actionable intelligence capabilities, and Israels friends and foes surely took note.

When the PIJ subsequently fired rockets indiscriminately at Israeli civilians and city centers, two more terrorist commanders were taken out. The total number is six; three at the outset, then two more, then another one. Within five days, the entire leadership of the terrorist organization was targeted and 17 facilities where rockets were manufactured and stored were destroyed. That left little room for ambiguity as to the fate of those who indiscriminately target Israeli civilians.

THERE IS nothing that the tyrants in Tehran would have wanted more than for Israel to get bogged down in clashes with their terrorist proxies in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, not to mention the ones in Nablus and Jenin. The ayatollahs did everything in their power to push Hamas and Hezbollah into the fray, but the two terrorist organizations chose instead to stay on the sidelines and let the PIJ fight it out on their own.

Regardless of whether Hamas and Hezbollah were deterred by Israel or simply saw satisfaction in seeing a rival terrorist group clobbered, one thing is clear: Hamas and Hezbollah leadership feared they would face a similar fate as the top three PIJ commanders and thus exposed Irans own weakness. It turns out that Hamas and Hezbollahs leaders, like the ayatollahs themselves, are fearless with the lives of others but are much more concerned with their own lives.

Despite its efforts, Irans influence was limited to convincing the Islamic Jihads leadership abroad (ensconced in luxury hotels) to turn down Egypts initial ceasefire efforts, to prolong the skirmish with Israel by three days, and to lose scores of additional terrorists and facilities in the process.

Israels targeted killing policy proved effective and will hopefully deter future escalations. Once again, Israel showed the world it tries its best not to harm Palestinian civilians, while Palestinian terrorists do their best to target Israeli civilians and hide behind their own. That is the reason for the limited calls heard this time in the international community to put an end to the PIJs drubbing.

Importantly, key actors and potential peace partners in the region, like Saudi Arabia and others, got reassurance after seeing a glimpse of Israels power. They surely have no illusions as to where the future lies.

Israel has grown into a global economic and technological power, with a per-capita GDP that surpasses countries like Italy, France and Germany. As a hub of cutting-edge technology and a gateway to Europe and America, any responsible leader who has his peoples future in mind would seek peace with Israel.

While Tehran and the PIJ lick their wounds, Israel and their potential peace partners, along with their longstanding partners, should bring an end to the Arab-Israeli conflict and stop Irans pursuit of nuclear arms.

The writer is a former head of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorisms office in Washington and a senior analyst at Acumen Risk Ltd., a risk management firm.

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Iran is the force behind all of Israel's enemies - opinion - The Jerusalem Post

A prominent politician in Iran says none of the country's political factions can do anything to ensure a high turnout in the upcoming parliamentary election.

Mohammad Ali Abtahi, former reformist President Mohammad Khatami's chief of staff told Rouydad24 website on Wednesday that "if the people do not feel that it is a free election, they will not take part in it."

"My understanding is that the Guardian Council is not going to soften its policy on the disqualification [of reform-minded candidates]. It is not likely that those who have gone out of their way to create a unified political system will come short of their hardliner policies."

Other Iranian media outlets such as Khabar Online have also pointed out during recent days that ten months before the vote in March 2024, there is no election mood in Iran unlike previous rounds when campaigns started at least a year before the elections. In the meantime, many Iranian officials including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei have expressed concern about a likely low-turnout next March.

Mohammad Ali Abtahi, the chief of staff of former reformist President Mohammad Khatami

Khamenei told Iranian officials in late March that a high-turnout election will make the country powerful and will stop international pressures on the Islamic Republic. He called for a "healthy election" as he was aware of criticisms of the way the latest Iranian elections were held in 2020 and 2021 presumably under his supervision.

Many politicians, particularly reformist figures such as Abtahi and Mohsen Mirdamadi, the leader of banned reformist party Mosharekat have said that the regime in Iran has lost its social capital, a polite word for legitimacy, as a result of the disputed presidential election of 2009 and the protests that have rocked Iran since 2017.

Abtahi added that those who currently hold the power in Iran are not interested in increasing the turnout in the upcoming elections, as only a low turnout can ensure their victory.

Meanwhile, lawmaker Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh told Khabar Online website on Wednesday that the current ultraconservative-dominated parliament is working hard in extraordinary sessions to pass an amendment to Iran's Election Law to serve the hardliners by giving even more power to the conservative-dominated Guardian Council to disqualify any candidate who does not belong to the ultraconservative camp.

Lawmaker Gholamreza Nouri Ghezeljeh

Ghezeljeh characterized the new legislation as "a law against the republican system," however, he said that hardliners are working hard to enact the legislation before the upcoming elections.

On Tuesday, prominent conservative politician Mohammad Javad Bahonar had said that the Majles should not be involved in changing the Election Law, as the incumbent lawmakers tend to manipulate the legislation to ensure their own re-election.

Ghezeljeh said that in the draft amendment the Guardian Council has been given the power to disqualify even those who get elected. He said such a legislation will weaken the parliament altogether.

Some Iranian politicians have also expressed concern about the next presidential election which usually takes place in the year after the Majles election.

Former lawmaker Gholam AIi Jafarzadeh Imenabadi

Former lawmaker Gholam AIi Jafarzadeh Imenabadi said in an interview on Wednesday that President Ebrahim Raisi's chances for re-election is limited. "He can score only if they put him in front of an empty goal post," he said.

Imanabadi reiterated that "In a competitive election neither Raisi nor 90 percent of current lawmakers have any chance to get re-elected."

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Irans Hardliners Work On Draft Bill To Further Restrict Elections -

A news website in Iran has warned that high inflation was detrimental in the fall of the Roman Empire, as the government conceals data to hide galloping prices.

Fararu website, considered to be moderate in Irans government-controlled media environment, wrote on Thursday that as Roman emperors reduced the silver content of their Denario coins, the foundations of the empire began to crumble.

Meanwhile, another website, Ecoiran quoted a central bank source on Wednesday as saying that inflation in the first Iranian month of the year (March 21-April 20) rose by 68.7 compared to the same period last year. Just in that one-month prices jumped 5.2 percent, with the previous month witnessing another substantial hike of 6.6 percent.

If true, this would represent a nearly 20-percent jump compared to the inflation rate last reported by the government in early 2023.

The Central Bank of Iran and the Statistical Center of Iran have not released figures on point-to-point inflation for the past two months, comparing prices to the same months in the past year.

The period in question coincides with persisting low exchange rates for the Iranian currency, rial, which has nearly halved in value since mid-2022.

One year ago, the rial was trading at around 300,000 to the dollar, while in early May it dropped to as low as 550,000.

A woman shopping in Tehran with Iranian currency in hand

Rials huge drop tells the story of inflation in Iran. The country has to import a large part of its food, animal feed, medicines, raw materials and finished goods it needs. As the local currency loses value, imports become more expensive and higher prices have to be passed on to consumers.

The alarming comparison with the Roman Empire is not too far-fetched, as Iran faces a more immediate danger of rebellion by ever-impoverished masses.

Although large-scale anti-regime protests in the fall of 2022 were driven by social and political oppression, but the current economic crisis was also making hopeless young people restive. Also, labor unrest began to rise in 2023, as workers real incomes declined.

It is important to note that price inflation is highest in the food sector, which even last year was estimated to have been between 70-100 percent. Reports began to emerge as early as 2021 that Iranians were cutting down on consumption of meat and dairy products. Recent reports have spoken of lower-income families cutting down on nutritious food and unable to afford many types of fruits and vegetables.

Iran has been suffering from lack of economic growth for more than a decade as international sanctions reduced its oil export revenues that were vital for financing an inefficient government and its more inefficient control of the economy.

But the regime has insisted to stick to its controversial nuclear program that brought about the sanctions in the first place. A brief respite came in 2016-2017, when the JCPOA accord with world powers lifted UN-imposed sanctions, but former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal and imposed unilateral sanctions in 2018.

Inflation soon began to surpass 20 percent and the rial started to nosedive, eventually losing value by 12-fold.

Even politicians loyal to the regime have begun harshly criticizing President Ebrahim Raisis government for its inability to address the crisis, but almost no insiders openly say that the decision to resolve the nuclear dispute lies with the Irans anti-West ruler Ali Khamenei.

Irans high inflation rate is just behind other a few other troubled economies in the world, such as Venezuela, Sudan, Argentina and Zimbabwe.

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In Absence Of Official Stats, Media In Iran Say Inflation Is At 70% -