ABSTRACT
The low-intensity conflict between Iran and Iraq had broadened into a high-intensity confrontation involving more parties. In the spring of 1984, when the so-called tanker war flared up, Kuwaiti and Saudi oil tankers became a target of Iranian attacks. On May 13 and 14, Iranian aircraft and speed gunboats attacked the Kuwaiti oil tankers Umm Qasbah and Bahrah respectively. The Kuwaitis were viewing the reflagging procedure, at least in public, as a strictly commercial deal, and refused to offer the Americans any direct bases or access facilities for their escort forces. The Gulf Arab states took both token and actual roles in the “internationalization” of the war. They provided in a variety of ways many “small, unreported things” for the American missions. The “internationalization” of the Gulf may have led to a détente between the East and the West in the waters of the Gulf through regular contacts, joint searches for mines, and early warning of mines.
