Panetta: US 'fully prepared' for an Iran challenge

The US military is now fully prepared to deal with any Iranian effort to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital Gulf avenue for international oil shipments, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said Wednesday.At a Pentagon news conference, Panetta was asked whether, in light of Irans threat to close the strait in retaliation for stronger international economic sanctions, Washington is adjusting US forces in the region.We are not making any special steps at this point in order to deal with the situation, Panetta replied. Why? Because, frankly, we are fully prepared to deal with that situation now. He noted that routine planning continues as the US and its allies consider a range of potential Iran-related problems.The Navy this month added a second aircraft carrier strike group in the Middle East, portraying it as part of a normal rotation and not a deliberate buildup of force. The carriers are the USS Carl Vinson and the USS Abraham Lincoln, under the control of US Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain.The US has kept a continuous naval presence in the Gulf region for decades, but international concerns about a potential confrontation have grown amid tensions over the advancement of Irans nuclear program.The US also has military forces in nearby United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and other Gulf nations.Irans Revolutionary Guard, the countrys most powerful military force, says Tehrans leadership has decided to order the closure of the Strait of Hormuz if Irans oil exports are blocked as a result of sanctions. A senior Guard officer said earlier this month that the decision has been made by Irans top authorities.Iranian politicians have made the threat in the past, but this was the strongest statement yet that a closure of the strait is official policy.In his remarks at the Pentagon, Panetta said he still holds out hope for a diplomatic solution with Iran.It takes two to be able to engage, and weve always expressed a willingness to try to do that, he said. But weve always made clear that in terms of any threats to the region, in terms of some of the behavior that theyve conducted in the region, that well also be prepared to respond militarily if we have to.In what some view as a sign of concern about aggravating tensions with Iran, the US and Israel have postponed what Panetta has called the largest-ever US-Israeli air defense exercise. It was supposed to be conducted in April.