US navy starts war games in the Gulf
By Alex Spillius in Washington
Last Updated:
1:37am BST 28/03/2007
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The US navy sent a warning signal to Iran yesterday as it announced that it had begun the largest demonstration of force in the Persian Gulf since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Two aircraft carriers are leading military exercises which involve 10,000 personnel and more than 100 warplanes flying simulated attack manoeuvres off the coast of Iran. The war games bring together the strike groups of the USS John Stennis and the USS Dwight Eisenhower.
The exercises will considerably raise the stakes in the stand-off over Iran's capture of 15 British sailors and Marines in the disputed Shatt al-Arab waterway between Iran and Iraq on Friday. Tensions are already running high because of Teheran's nuclear programme.
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Cmdr Kevin Aandahl, spokesman for the 5th Fleet based across the Gulf in Bahrain, denied that the manoeuvres were meant to threaten Iran, whose navy operates in the same waters. He added: "What it should be seen as by Iran or anyone else is that it's for regional stability and security. These ships are just another demonstration of that. If there's a destabilising effect, it's Iran's behaviour."
US navy starts war games in the Gulf | International News | News | Telegraph
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