Despite Trump’s Harsh Rhetoric:

U.S. Scales Back Presence in Persian Gulf

Date: 02 October 2018 - 22:19

News ID: ۵۸۰۴۳

WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- The Trump administration has been steadily ramping up its rhetoric on the threat posed by Iran this year but the U.S. military has scaled back its presence in the Persian Gulf region, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing officials and military experts, removing ships, planes and missiles that would be needed in a major confrontation.
According to officials familiar with carrier deployments, there has been no U.S. aircraft carrier strike group in the Persian Gulf since March -- the longest period of time in two decades that a carrier hasn’t traveled those waters, the Journal reported.
Since U.S. aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt left for the Pacific, its empty space has not been filled with the same level of air power, officials acknowledged.
Pentagon chief Jim Mattis announced pulling four Patriot missile-defense systems out of the region from Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain to ramp up military capabilities against Russia and China.
The report said the ships, planes and missiles in the ships pulled out from the region would be needed if there were to really be a military confrontation with Iran.
The under par U.S. military presence could be attributed to either of two factors: a shortage of ships and equipment, Iran not posing a threat, said the Journal.
Experts say Trump’s tough talk regarding Iran appears to be very powerful; however, in reality it is empty talk and mere rhetoric.
Experts cited by the Journal believe that either the U.S. military apparatus is too spread out -- addressing other threats -- that it lacks the capabilities to properly cover the alleged threat posed by Iran, or what is being hyped up as Iran being a regional threat is not real and does not exist.
According to the 2018 U.S. national security strategy, Russia and China pose the greatest threats to the U.S. and its interests across the globe.
The proponents of the U.S. administration say that Trump isn't seeking for a military confrontation with Iran and instead wants to pressure them into a dialogue, just as he did with North Korea.
On Saturday, Iran's official TV broadcast footage showing a close encounter between the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) navy and the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the strategic Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf, the passageway for nearly one-third of all oil traded by sea.
In the video, IRGG speedboats are seen closing in on the U.S. carrier.
Iranian sailors then warn the Americans over radio communication to "keep well clear" of the IRGC patrol boats and say they advise the Americans to "refrain from the threat or use of force in any manner."
An Iranian IRGC commander said in January that the confrontations dropped off because U.S. vessels patrolling the Persian Gulf had changed their behavior and abided by international regulations.