http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/201...straits_hormuz
Brief: IRGC Detains Vessels In Straits Of Hormuz
April 24, 2010 | 1421 GMT
Naval patrol units of Iran’s elite military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), briefly stopped French and Italian vessels in the Straits of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported April 24. According to the reports, the two ships were stopped by IRGC naval forces engaged in the Great Prophet 5 military exercises that have been in progress for three days. Iranian forces reportedly boarded the two vessels, inspected them to assess whether they were in compliance with environmental regulations, and were allowed to sail after it was concluded that they were not in violation of any regulations. STRATFOR cannot confirm this report at this time. It is not clear whether such an incident truly took place and if it did, what types of vessels were stopped and for how long. If it did happen, then it was an attempt by Iran to show that it is prepared to interfere with international energy-related traffic in the event of an attack. Thus far, the Iranians have been using a mix of rhetoric and war games to send a message to the United States that the cost of military action against the Islamic republic would be very high. By stopping ships (albeit briefly) in the Straits of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf (through which 40 percent of the world’s seaborne oil supplies flow), Iran is trying to complement verbal threats with a practical demonstration of its intent. Such an offensive move on the part of the Iranians, assuming it actually happened, will escalate already growing tensions over Iran’s controversial nuclear program and place pressure on U.S. President Barack Obama’s administration to respond to the Iranian provocation.