United Kingdom readies warships for Middle East duty

With tensions riding high in the Middle East, all eyes are on the oil industry’s ability to respond to the threats of violence coming from Tehran.

Over the last few weeks, Iran’s military has been blamed for a number of attacks on the infrastructure of the global oil markets in the Middle East.  These are some of the most fertile lands for fossils fuels in the entire world, and the bottleneck of the industry just happens to be off the shores of the notoriously volatile nation.

The latest attack was believed to be carried out with magnetic mines, in a brazen act of war, and targeted a Japanese oil tanker – a move that broadened the scope of Iran’s targets to an alarming degree.

The United Kingdom is rightfully concerned over the safety of their vessels in the region, and are taking steps to protect their fleets.

The United Kingdom is deploying a contingent of Royal Marines to protect their warships in the Persian Gulf as tensions rise between the United States and Iran.

Using speedboats and helicopters to protect Royal Navy warships and U.K. merchant vessels, 100 Marines will form Special Purpose Task Group 19 and patrol the region from Britain’s new naval base in Bahrain, according to The Sunday Times.

The Royal Marines, which served as the model for the U.S. Marine Corps when it was created in 1775, are organized into smaller light infantry units than their American cousin.

Iran has called into question the reports of their role in recent tanker attacks, at one point going so far as to say that they were “false flag” incidents, perpetrated by American forces for the purpose of inciting war.