Trump once again "fired"
US President Trump recently announced through social media platforms that he has ordered the US military to open fire on any Iranian armed ships that harass US ships. Since the United States threatened to withdraw from the Iranian nuclear agreement signed by many countries, this is the clearest threat from the United States' highest executive head to provoke a military conflict in the waters of the Persian Gulf.
On April 22, Trump tweeted that he had ordered to the Naval Command that he could "shoot down" any Iranian military ship that harassed US military ships. This was a verbal response to the formation of 11 US speedboats "watching" the US Navy's surface ships a week ago. But Trump did not explain how to define "harassment". If it were just the "close-up spectator" before it started, I am afraid that it cannot be explained by international law and any reason. And Trump does not seem to understand the difference between "shooting down" and "sinking down". The word "shot down" is probably not inadvertently lost. The role as the highest commander of the US armed forces is ridiculous.
The Lincoln was "surrounded" by Iranian vessels and was captured by satellites
In the recent maritime confrontation between the United States and Iran, the earliest and most obvious one was December 2019. The surface fleet of the USS Lincoln carrier battle group was surrounded by Iranian speedboats at close range as it exited the Arabian Sea-Indian Ocean before passing the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. Navy quickly issued a statement saying that it was not affected, and Iran was using the usual provocative methods. However, if this tactic is combined with other anti-ship equipment such as ship-borne missiles, torpedo boats, and submarines, or even these speedboats themselves carry explosive devices to carry out "suicide" attacks, the US military is well aware that it is difficult to deal with in small waters.
Although the strengths of the United States and Iran are very different, Iran does not "fear" the strong ships and artillery of the US military. It constantly sends out speedboat groups to "look around" near the US warships cruising in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz. The close confrontation between the two sides has greatly increased the possibility of misjudgment of the situation, accidental collision or even fire. The United States and Iran also accused each other of "provocation" and "unprofessionalism."
Iran has successfully launched the first US military satellite
At the same time, Iran also announced last week that it has successfully launched the country ’s first military satellite using its homemade launch vehicle and successfully entered a predetermined orbit at a height of 425 kilometers. The United States initially denied the successful launch, but then had to admit that the satellite was in orbit, and accused Iran of using the so-called launch vehicle to cover up the development of long-range ballistic missiles. Iran did not disclose the attributes of the first military satellite, but the near-Earth synchronous orbit of about 400 kilometers is basically the height of the reconnaissance satellite. If it is used to monitor large fleets in the narrow waters of the Strait of Hormuz, it is not too difficult.
If the U.S. military easily opened the war end of sinking Iranian speedboats or other military ships in accordance with Trump ’s “instructions,” then there may be an unstoppable chain effect. After the assassination of Sulaymani by the United States, Iran immediately retaliated against the US military's ground base in Iraq. Although "draining water" at a critical moment allows American military personnel to evade, the intention of confronting the US military is very clear.