US Navy to double presence in Persian Gulf

The US Navy will double the number of counter-mine ships in the Persian Gulf to eight, Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations, said today.

The Navy will also send four more MH-60 mine-sweeping helicopters to the Gulf, Greenert told the Senate Armed Services Committee. Some Iranian officials have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, transit point for a fifth of the oil traded worldwide. (AFP)