Blockade by Any Other Name: The Escalating US Iran Maritime Confrontation The latest salvo in the ongoing maritime standoff between the United States and Iran was fired on Tuesday when a US Navy helicopter struck a Panama flagged cargo vessel, Vela Nova, with Hellfire missiles.
According to official reports, the ship's civilian crew had ignored repeated warnings from American forces to halt its transgression of the naval blockade imposed by Washington.
The incident appears as just another chapter in the complex history of US Iran relations, but it reveals a deeper pattern of aggression and escalation.