Martin S. Navias

Oil and Water: The Tanker Wars

The Strait of Hormuz has become a fraught passage in the Tanker Wars between Iran and Iraq.

USS Stark lists to port after being struck an Iraqi-launched Exocet missile in the Arabian Gulf, 17 May 1987. Department of Defense. Public Domain.

The First Tanker War with Iran

If tensions between the US and Iran in the Persian Gulf lead to war, it will not be the first time. In 1987 and 1988, the US intervened to protect shipping from Iranian attacks.