Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/7/iran-holds-large-scale-military-drill-after-us-navy-confrontation
Iran early yesterday stated large scale military drills after the incident with the oil taker in the Sea of Oman. The Iranian account says that they seized the tanker because they were afraid that the US Navy who was nearby at the time would have taken it themselves. The US account just states that they were there on patrol and to monitor the situation. The Iranian military drill is expected to incorporate a large amount of military forces; soldiers, armoured vehicles, ships, missile and radar systems, and unmanned aircraft. The drill is expected to take place over many days in a large area with battle simulations like defending their beaches. This drill comes after many in reaction towards and tension between the US and threats by Israel, as well as, Azerbaijan. This event also comes right after the 42nd anniversary of the takeover of the US embassy which held hostages for 444 days.
My take on this article is that Iran is over reacting about the oil tanker in the Sea of Oman. The reaction to board and seize that ship is very excessive. Then on top of that having a big military drill seems suspicious to me. This ties back into my other article where Iran seems to be hiding something. That something is most likely nuclear weapons which they have been seeking to have for a long time. This reaction just seems very defensive and the Iranian higher ups have a deeper plan than what they are displaying to the world.
This article relates to class because it goes over the topic of a Realists view. Iran seems to have or pose the idea that the world is out against them. They are acting rationally and don’t seek reciprocity options but rather military actions to get their point across. They seem to follow the principle that power equals dominance. This ties into the oil tanker incident because in the eyes Us was acting selfishly and wanting to take that oil for free. This in turn in a realist point of view makes them act out in military actions. The two types of power Iran seems to be interested in are economic and military power. These power types would help them answer the five reasons states want power.