DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Naval mines bobbing in the waters of the Persian Gulf, threatening oil tankers. Iranian speed boats raking ships with machine-gun fire in the Strait of Hormuz. And the United States right in the middle of the fight.

This isn’t the current conflict between Iran and the US, paused by a shaky ceasefire. Instead, it’s the “Tanker War,” when Iran targeted shipping during its 1980s war with Iraq, and US warships stepped in to escort Kuwaiti tankers to ensure the flow of crude oil to the global market.

The US could follow that model now and become more aggressive to protect ships passing through the strait, through which 20 percent of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passes in peacetime. It conducted more limited escorts of ships that came under attack in the Red Sea in recent years, and US President Donald Trump said this week that he has ordered the US military to “shoot and kill” small Iranian boats.

But offering escorts in the Strait of Hormuz wouldn’t be so easy. Military technology has advanced since the “Tanker War.” The US hasn’t defined the same clear, narrow goals in this war as it did in the 1980s. And it’s not clear international shippers would feel safe even with an American Navy escort, given that it is now a combatant.

Small boats, big problems

The US Navy has long been familiar with the small-boat tactics deployed by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which has adapted to international sanctions blocking its ability to access military vessels by using smaller civilian ships for military purposes.

For years, the Guard has used vessels the size of small commercial fishing boats to shadow American aircraft carriers whenever they pass through the strait. Instead of bearing fishing poles, most have Soviet-era heavy machine guns bolted to their bows with a small rocket launcher on top.

Iran’s revolutionary guard has released a video said to show its forces seizing a ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The container ship was one of two captured by Iran on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/tURhZmqZ3U — Al Jazeera Breaking........

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