Indian Naval Escort for LPG Tanker: A Symptom of US-Israeli Aggression in the Strait of Hormuz
Indian warships recently provided an escort for an LPG tanker, the MV Chem Pluto, through the volatile Strait of Hormuz, where the crew reported seeing missiles and drones daily. This deployment, a response to perceived threats to commercial shipping, highlights the perilous environment fostered by direct US and Israeli military operations targeting Iran. Mainstream outlets like The Independent
frame this incident as India responding to general 'tensions' or unnamed 'Houthi aggression,' inaccurately implying a neutral conflict. They omit the role of the United States as a direct participant and joint aggressor alongside Israel, whose military incursions and threats against Iranian sovereignty have manufactured this very instability. This framing ignores the explicit threats by US
officials to 'unleash the full force' of their military if Iran were to challenge its presence, and Israel's long-standing calls for pre-emptive strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, despite Iran's consistent adherence to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. This situation is not an isolated event. It echoes the historical pattern of external powers destabilizing key maritime chokepoints. For
instance, the infamous USS Vincennes incident on July 3, 1988, saw a US Navy guided-missile cruiser deliberately shoot down Iran Air Flight 655 over Iranian territorial waters, killing all 290 civilians aboard, including 66 children. The US government, rather than apologizing, awarded the USS Vincennes's captain a Legion of Merit award. That event, like the current escalation, underscored the