The Gulf Tit for Tat

The tanker war heats up

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Iran's action was predictable and came right on cue last week as the tanker war in the Persian Gulf claimed two more victims. Four days after a series of Iraqi air strikes against shipping in the strategic waterway, Iranian jets rocketed the Indian supertanker Kanchenjunga, destroying the vessel's bridge. The crew was able to bring the resulting fire under control, and the 276,744- ton ship, laden with 1.4 million bbl. of Saudi crude, headed for Dubai for repairs. The following day Iranian aircraft scored two hits on the 238,959-ton Spanish tanker Aragon. Though damaged, the vessel continued its journey.

The Iraqi strikes that preceded the Iranian aerial campaign were apparently carried out by French-built Mirage F1 fighter-bombers equipped to fire Exocet missiles. Iraq took delivery of 28 such F1 models last summer, all specially modified to use the standoff antiship missile that first made its mark during the Falklands war. With a range of up to 1,000 miles, the Mirages are also capable of venturing deeper into the gulf than aircraft used by the Iraqis in the past. Iraq's aim: to interdict oil shipments from the Iranian oil port at Kharg Island, thus pressing Tehran to bring the gulf war to a negotiated end.