But U.S. officials say the aim is not to increase anxiety, but rather to ensure stability. More specifically, the exercises are designed to deal with mines that could hamper shipping in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil supply transits.
Iran has said if it is attacked, it will close the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Cmdr. Jason Salata, spokesman for the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, says the Navy’s confidence is high that it can deal with any threat to navigation.
"I wouldn’t put a timeline to it, but I think that this exercise demonstrates that," Salata says. "I mean, there’s more than 30 countries here, and I think that signals a strong resolve from the international community to go after the threat."
The Navy won’t name a specific threat, but everyone here knows it’s a message for Iran.
Bahraini official Sheikh Abdul-Aziz al Khalifa says all of Iran’s neighbors have a keen interest in what happens to that country’s nuclear facilities, such as the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant just across the gulf from Bahrain.
"That nuclear plant is closer to Bahrain than it is to Tehran," Khalifa says. "I think what these minesweeping exercises say to Iran is that the whole world is here to make sure that the waters of the Gulf will remain open and safe."
