Strait of Hormuz

Both the Pentagon and the Iranian government have released their videotaped version of events during Sunday's confrontation in the Strait of Hormuz. There is a consensus among naval officers that the threat to destroy the American ships could have very well been issued from offshore or from a boat not affiliated with Iran's military.

According to the Boston Sun, the U.S. Chief of Naval Operations "said it was unclear whether the radio warning came from Iranian vessels or from shore along the Straits of Hormuz..."

Similarly, TPM reports that the voice which issued the threat to "explode" the American ships, "seems to come out of nowhere and doesn't have the expected engine noise in the background, and in fact, The Washington Post reports, the accent doesn't even sound Iranian."

Paul Pillar, a former CIA analyst stated in the Boston Globe that Iran's actions may have been a signal to other Arab states "who have to make their continuing decisions about aligning more closely with the United States, or accommodating the Iranians...Whatever ideas the US may have to push Iran around, Iran has options to push back."

Some questions about the incident remain. Videos from both sides have been released, but they are heavily edited. The footage is no longer than five minutes, but the encounter, by all accounts, took around 20 minutes total. Barely any sources (the New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Boston Sun, Associated Press) venture to identify the boats as Iranian. Most claim that the boats are "suspected" to be Iranian. The Revolutionary Guard, which recently took over Iran's operations in the Strait of Hormuz, is somewhat autonomous. Some believe that these soldiers could have acted alone in pursuing the American ships. More as the story develops.