![Earnest Will Bridgeton](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8b/Earnest_Will_Bridgeton.jpg)
The ''Bridgeton'' incident was the
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
of the supertanker by Iranian
IRGC
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسداران انقلاب اسلامی, Sepāh-e Pāsdārān-e Enghelāb-e Eslāmi, lit=Army of Guardians of the Islamic Revolution also Sepāh or Pasdaran for short) is a branch o ...
navy near
Farsi Island
Farsi Island ( fa, جزیره فارسی, translit=jazīreye fârsī) is a tiny, barren Iranian island ( Bushehr province) in the Persian Gulf. There is an IRGC Navy base on this island. The island has an area of about and is restricted from the ...
in the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf ( fa, خلیج فارس, translit=xalij-e fârs, lit=Gulf of Persis, Fars, ), sometimes called the ( ar, اَلْخَلِيْجُ ٱلْعَرَبِيُّ, Al-Khalīj al-ˁArabī), is a Mediterranean sea (oceanography), me ...
on July 24, 1987.
The ship was sailing in the first convoy of
Operation Earnest Will
Operation Earnest Will (24 July 1987 – 26 September 1988) was the American military protection of Kuwaiti-owned tankers from Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988, three years into the Tanker War phase of the Iran–Iraq War. It was the largest nav ...
, the U.S. response to Kuwaiti requests to protect its tankers from attack amid the
Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council ...
.
The explosion of an Iranian mine in the Gulf's shipping channel damaged ''Bridgeton''
's outer hull but did not prevent it from completing its voyage.
Nevertheless, the incident was a propaganda victory for Iran.
The captain of the ship complained about the information given to the press, by United States politicians following a meeting with President Reagan, and the fact that four warships and a carrier group could not prevent Iran from placing a small minefield in the supposedly secret, but compromised, route of the tanker.
Background
![Bridgeton 1993](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Bridgeton_1993.jpg)
Within a year of launching the
Iran–Iraq War
The Iran–Iraq War was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. It began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for almost eight years, until the acceptance of United Nations Security Council ...
in 1980, Iraq began attacking ships carrying oil from Iranian ports, seeking to intimidate Tehran's allies and trading partners and deprive Iran of oil revenues. In 1984, Iran began to follow suit, attacking the tankers of countries that supported Iraq. In 1987,
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
, whose ships carried Iraqi oil, asked both the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
for military help. Initially, Moscow offered to loan Kuwait three Soviet-flagged oil tankers and to protect them with
Soviet Navy warships. In response, the United States suggested that Kuwaiti tankers fly American flags and travel in convoys protected by the
U.S. Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...
. This convoy effort was dubbed
Operation Earnest Will
Operation Earnest Will (24 July 1987 – 26 September 1988) was the American military protection of Kuwaiti-owned tankers from Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988, three years into the Tanker War phase of the Iran–Iraq War. It was the largest nav ...
.
Incident
Assembled to protect Kuwait's tankers were four frigates, three cruisers, and a destroyer in or around the Persian Gulf and the
Strait of Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz ( fa, تنگه هرمز ''Tangeh-ye Hormoz'' ar, مَضيق هُرمُز ''Maḍīq Hurmuz'') is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the ...
. As well, the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and its task force were nearby in the Indian Ocean, while the battleship , two more cruisers, and a helicopter carrier were patrolling the area. The operation's plan called for convoys protected by three or four U.S. warships and carrier-based aircraft, including A-6 attack aircraft, F/A-18 strike fighters, EA-6B jamming aircraft, and F-14 fighters.
On July 21, 1987, the 414,266-ton ''Bridgeton'' and the 48,233-ton gas tanker ''Gas Prince'' sailed from the Gulf of Oman under the protection of three U.S. warships in the first convoy of Earnest Will. It transited the Strait of Hormuz without incident, although the group was approached by four Iranian F-4 fighters.
When the convoy arrived at the midpoint of its voyage, Iran proclaimed that the convoy carried "prohibited goods".
Pasdaran
, meaning "Guards") can refer to:
* Pasdaran (district) in Tehran
* Informal name for the Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC; fa, سپاه پاسدا ...
commander
Mohsen Rezai
Mohsen Rezaee ( fa, محسن رضایی, born Sabzevar Rezaee Mirgha'ed ( fa, سبزوار رضایی میرقائد) on 1 September 1954) is an Iranian Iranian Principlists, conservative politician affiliated with the Resistance Front of Islamic ...
initially ordered an attack by Pasdaran speedboats from
Farsi Island
Farsi Island ( fa, جزیره فارسی, translit=jazīreye fârsī) is a tiny, barren Iranian island ( Bushehr province) in the Persian Gulf. There is an IRGC Navy base on this island. The island has an area of about and is restricted from the ...
, but later, based on advice from Iranian Leader
Ayatollah Khomeini
Ruhollah Khomeini, Ayatollah Khomeini, Imam Khomeini ( , ; ; 17 May 1900 – 3 June 1989) was an Iranian political and religious leader who served as the first supreme leader of Iran from 1979 until his death in 1989. He was the founder of ...
, it was agreed to keep with the
mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...
operation instead of a direct fight. A special Pasdaran unit which had spent several weeks practicing for this mission laid a string of nine mines apart, and then hastened back to Farsi. American intelligence had discovered Rezai's aborted unauthorized attack but missed the mining operation. On July 24, ''Bridgeton'' collided with mine at a position of 27°58' north and 49°50' east, 13 miles west of
Farsi Island
Farsi Island ( fa, جزیره فارسی, translit=jazīreye fârsī) is a tiny, barren Iranian island ( Bushehr province) in the Persian Gulf. There is an IRGC Navy base on this island. The island has an area of about and is restricted from the ...
. The explosion caused a dent in the body of the oil tanker. ''Bridgeton'' slowed, but did not stop. Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy warships took station in the tanker's wake, allowing the big double-hulled ship to break trail.
Aftermath
One day before the incident, Rear Admiral Harold J. Bernsen, commander of the
Middle East Force
United States Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) is the United States Navy element of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM). Its area of responsibility includes the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, and Arabian Sea. It consists of the ...
, said, "The Iranian Air Force and Navy are not strong. It would not be in their best interest to utilize their forces in a direct confrontation". After the incident, Bernsen said there had been indications that Iran had laid mines, but no one thought they would affect the convoy.
[
Following the incident, ]the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...
announced it would deploy more warships to the area, and Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger
Caspar Willard Weinberger (August 18, 1917 – March 28, 2006) was an American statesman and businessman. As a prominent Republican, he served in a variety of state and federal positions for three decades, including chairman of the Californ ...
announced that the U.S. would retaliate against any country that set mines in the way of ships destined for Kuwait. Although there was no authenticated evidence of Iran culpability, American officials were all convinced that the Pasdaran force of Iran had placed mines under water at night before the incident. Weinberger said minesweeping would be given the highest priority.
The ''Bridgeton'' incident was a propaganda victory for Iran. Prime Minister Mir-Hossein Mousavi
Mir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh ( fa, میرحسین موسوی خامنه, Mīr-Hoseyn Mūsavī Khāmené, ; born 2 March 1942) is an Iranian reformist politician, artist and architect who served as the forty-ninth and last Prime Minister of Ira ...
called it "an irreparable blow on America's political and military prestige".[ ]Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani ( fa, اکبر هاشمی رفسنجانی, Akbar Hāshemī Rafsanjānī, born Akbar Hashemi Bahramani, 25 August 1934 – 8 January 2017) was an Iranian politician, writer, and one of the founding fathers of the Islami ...
said, "From now on, if our wells, installations, and centers are hit, we will make the installations and centers of Iraq's partners the targets of our attacks".[
]
See also
* Iran Air Flight 655
Iran Air Flight 655 was a scheduled passenger flight from Tehran to Dubai via Bandar Abbas that was shot down on 3July 1988 by two SM-2MR surface-to-air missiles fired by the , a Cruiser#US cruiser development, guided-missile cruiser of the Unit ...
* Nader Mahdavi
Nader Mahdavi ( fa, نادر مهدوی) or Hossein Basria ( fa, حسین بسریا) was an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval commander who fought against United States naval forces and cruisers on 24 July 1987.
Short biography
Hossein B ...
* Operation Nimble Archer
Operation Nimble Archer was the 19 October 1987 attack on two Iranian oil platforms in the Persian Gulf by United States Navy forces. The attack was a response to Iran's missile attack three days earlier on , a reflagged Kuwaiti oil tanker at an ...
* Operation Praying Mantis
Operation Praying Mantis was an attack on 18 April 1988, by the United States Armed Forces within Iranian territorial waters in retaliation for the Iranian naval mining of the Persian Gulf during the Iran–Iraq War and the subsequent damage t ...
* Operation Prime Chance
Operation Prime Chance (August 1987 – June 1989) was a United States Special Operations Command operation intended to protect U.S.-flagged oil tankers from Iranian attack during the Iran–Iraq War. The operation took place roughly at the sa ...
* USS ''Stark'' incident
References
{{Iran–United States relations
Conflicts in 1987
Conflicts in 1988
20th-century military history of the United States
Earnest Will
1987 in the United States
Military operations involving the United States
Iran–United States relations
Kuwait–United States relations
Iran–Kuwait relations
Earnest Will
United States Marine Corps in the 20th century
Battles and conflicts without fatalities
History of the Persian Gulf
July 1987 events in Asia