tehran has threatened to close the strait of hormuz in retaliation for tighter western sections. today, the uss abraham lincoln sailed through those narrow waters shadowed by iranian patrol boats. >> this is the most potent symbol of america's military might, the uss abraham lincoln loaded with warplanes and now preparing to pass through a potentially dangerous waters, the straits of hormuz. this is a show of force. they are here to send a clear message of who really controls these waters. >> as it approaches the narrowest point to 21 miles wide, the coast is in sight. iran recently threatened to close the straits through which a 20% of the oil supplies travel. they have not yet but they're watching every inch of this journey. the west insists this is a routine voyage but it comes at a time of growing concern about iran's nuclear program and rising tensions. >> the presence of the ship is provocative. we've routine the transit in and out from the arabian gulf to the north arabian sea said that we can go out and start at work. they are taking no chances. u.s. helicopters warned of

headed to the straits of hormuz off the coast of iran to get a firsthand look at the growing tensionse gulf. >> reporter: it's the latest escalation in the standoff over iran's nuclear program. the country's president, mahmoud ahmadinejad is celebrating what it says is the installation of its first domestically made fuel rod. the announcement raised concerns that they could be closer to building anatomic bomb even as they maintain that it's for peaceful purposes. the west worried about tehran's next move is keeping watch. we're aboard the u.s.s. abraham lincoln as it patrols the persian gulf. iran has recently threatened to close the vital straits of hormuz in response to international sanctions imposed because of its controversial nuclear program. the abraham lincoln is here to prevent that. >> would he have' been operating in the arabian gulf, we'll almost on a daily basis interact with their small boats. they send maritime patrol aircraft out to observe us. things that you would expect them to do. they're very close to their home waters. we would do the same thing if we had foreign

you know iran says they control the straits of hormuz but if you're paying for that oil to go through there in dollars. the emperor controls the straits of hormuz ok good point now the telegraph says iran has the third largest oil reserves in the world and pricing oil in currencies other than dollars is a provocative move aimed at washington if iran switches to the non dollar terms for its oil payments there could be a new oriel price that would be denominated in euro yan or even the yuan a rupee india is already in talks with iran over pricing their oil in rupees and they said even worse gold absolutely so if there are multiple exchanges of multiple prices for these commodities then the monopoly position enjoyed by the us dollar shattered and with that come all the benefits of that and all of the inflation that america has exported to countries like china comes roaring back so those i pods and i pads suddenly instead of band a thousand bucks you're paying three thousand bucks the article also then goes on to mention the e.u. ban on iranian oil imports which comes into force o

navy is making a statement to iran in a critical oil shipping lane, the strait of hormuz. jim miklaszewski is in those waters tonight, getting a chance to see life onboard a u.s. carrier, the "u.s.s. abraham lincoln" where he got a closeup view of some potentially dangerous close encounters. >> reporter: it was daybreak as the u.s. aircraft carrier abraham lincoln got under way, led by a destroyer and a missile cruiser, high-powered protection, the carriers run through the strait of hormuz. as expected, the iranian military came out for a look. an f-27 plane makes a leisurely pass. shortly after, the bridge on the lincoln crackled to life. >> looks like he's out two miles. >> reporter: an iranian patrol boat was closing in fast. within two miles of the carrier, iranian boat finally backed off. lincoln's commander, captain john alexander says his biggest worry is that incidents like this could eventually lead to a fatal miscalculation. >> they have the ability to take a shot at me at some point and that's what i worry about. >> reporter: it's a legitimate concern. we've now

logically and rationally, if israel attacks iraq, iran will take it and they will not close the strait of hormuz, because closing the strait of hormuz will bring in the united states and be the beginning of the end of iran. but that is assuming that the iranians will be of logically and rationally. anybody who is bent in intelligence or has read a history book knows that your opponents often behave irrationally. israel strikes iran, iran launched missiles into israel -- not great, but ok. the reason the united states opposes this is they fear the fallout. or pass away of unintended consequences -- war has a way of unintended consequences, all wars. they just testified last week that iran is thinking of operating inside the united states. >> the iranian oil is already being cut off. europeans are not importing it. the saudis are determined to see the iranian nuclear program wiped out. they are very upset about this. the saudi pledge is to replace any iranian oil. the question is if they close the strait of hormuz, which, as evan indicated, is suicidal. the other question is if the they attack the

capability that there would be retaliation, and part of that could well be a blockade of the strait of hormuz which i am confident we could break the blockade. but i want to ask you when 20% of the world's oil supply transits the straits of hormuz, what is the impact on oil prices of the geopolitical issues that we see in the middle east? in other words does the threat of a possible action by israel against iran and possible retaliation, which would include a blockade of the strait of hormuz, does that affect worldwide oil prices? >> yes, sir, it does, and for the reasons you cite, if the street were blocked, that would have a profound impact on the region and the rest of the world and the price of oil. that is one thing that we have to manage very carefully with the nda provisions in imposing more sanctions on iran so that we do not end up in the worst of both worlds. you're quite right, it is a very delicate balance here, and it would clearly have impacts on the oil and the world economy. >> the blockade of the straits of hormuz, because of the blockade of the oil trade -- would you see tha

with the snake that is iran in his view and iran has been threatening recently to block the straits of hormuz which of course we know is the main export gulf oil. do you think the political consequences of that could be deeply and genuinely worried about what will happen if the iranian chop the strait of hormuz as they promised i think you'll have a situation where we start sleepwalking into war on both sides where there are extremists on both sides who want a conflict who would love a conflict because it would serve their purposes in the west there are people who want to take out iran both for america's national interest so-called and of course for the israelis and in iran there are hardliners who see that the islamic revolution is failing to receive the green movement popular who are seeing lots of people protesting in the region and see a foreign war seeing who see the idea of being under attack as a way of you know into my country so they're hardliners on both sides and i think the people in the middle have to be careful that we don't allow the hardliners to kind of allow us to sleep welc

kind of turned a blind eye to this and only recently with the radio threatening to block the strait of hormuz which i think the third of the we'll see board oil passes three people start to go away to what the hell is going to happen to all prices and i think that's a factor the american government's raising as well perhaps less of an israeli government's reasoning that he has very much thank you. i am. shot four times. syria as a boy. should be allowed to the polls. are now. you know the bullet comes out here and this makes it go bang and if what you hear is going to. that's all the training. and. hopefully we will never use the weapons for self defense but we should be put. they are the sole class in saline seizure assemblers. seventeen students s h a m one a seven floors to a lot of. feet. just so. it's. seemed. a safe. critique free. free. free. free. free. free. free media. headlines. any un resolution which. is also. support for an oil embargo against iran. influence to. egypt's top club. investigation into the tragedy is underway. so any more on that story with the next with the sports

kind of turned a blind eye to this and only recently with the radio threatening to block the strait of hormuz we think the third of the we'll see board oil passes through people start to go away to the what the hell is going to happen to all prices and i think that's a factor the american government's raising as well perhaps less i mean these are any governments reasons that he has very much thank you. i am. shot four times i'm told all. three of the boards are still in the lobby. and people should be allowed to. find these people are now. basically. i'm sorry you know the public comes out here and this makes it go bang and if what you hear is going to. that's all the really really crazy and. chilling what i want to philadelphia these are the streets. hopefully we will never have to use the weapons for self defense but we should be perp. they are a full class including the teacher as it was. seventeen students as city am one of seven or still a lot of. just say. this. is. a safe. the. critique three. three. three. three. three. three vote video for your media project free media. headlines on.

the fleet with a new round of weapons to stop attempts by iran to close the straight of a -- strait of hormuz. it threatened to shut it down, a checkpoint for 1/5 of the world's oil. >> reporter: the u.s. navy is adding guns to the destroyers and ships to counter any iranian fast boats or cruise missiles that mean used to close the strait of hormuz. that is what the defense sources tell the colleagues. they say the pentagon asks congress to reallocate $100 million of the defense fund to make sure there are no gaps in our military's capables in the persian gulf and this is coming two weeks after the pentagon asked for 85 million more for bunker buster bomb upgrades and one day after the international atomic international agency said it has serious concerns about iran's nuclear program near the end of the 11-page report, it says that the agency continues to have serious concerns regarding possible military dimentions to iran's nuclear program. check it out. uranium needs to be enriched at a 90% level to be used in nuclear weapons. twenty% is all iran produced so far. friday's iaea reports that

as tension rises with taiwan not -- with tehran as the uss abraham lincoln sales through the straits of hormuz. this valentine' day, the duchess of cambridge had them lining up in the poll. -- in liverpool. welcome to our viewers on pbs in america and around the globe. it is not often that a foreign vice-president gets an oval office meeting with president obama, a lunch at the state department, and enough media attention to dwarf most heads of state, but then again, this is the future leader of china we are talking about. today, xi jinping made the rounds in china while conceding the need for civil rights. >> xi jinping is known to be a fan of hollywood war films. in the oval office, a first date. a chance to see how we feels about iran, syria, and a growing u.s. presence in asia. >> we are a growing nation and we are very interested and focused on continuing to strengthen our relationships and to enhance our trade and commerce and nature that we are a strong and effective partner. >> mr. xi said that he was here to reinforce the vacations' and friendship but that the discussions would be fra

kind of turned a blind eye to this and only recently with the radio threatening to block the strait of hormuz were things. third of the world's seaboard oil passes through and people started to go away to what the hell is going to happen to all prices and i think that's a factor the american government's raising as well perhaps less so in these rainy governments reasoning maybe hasn't thank you very much thank you. i am. and. were shot four times in total in the air war as it would. sort of the boys are still in my body. in the people should be allowed to defend themselves where were they on guns in the hands of law abiding decent people are not a problem national rifle association was a group of basically retired military we love to shoot holes and i'm sorry if you know that the bullet comes out here and this makes it go bang and if what's in front of here is going to die that's all the training you really really need raise your hand if you know somebody's been shot ok but to live without one of the philadelphia horns or the streets. in jail without a gun hopefully we will never have to use

quite frankly, we have left the strait of hormuz about four or five hours ago. i assume we're outside the strait of hormuz. >> thanks so much for joining us there from the uss abraham lincoln. >> reporter: thank you. >> for more, we go to kristen welker. two attacks in india and georgia. now a u.s. carrier convoy forced to fire flares at iranian vessels. i'm assuming this is rising up the white house agenda by the minute. >> reporter: absolutely. the white house monitoring this situation quite closely. jim talked about the game of chicken that occur in the strait of hormuz. that's what concerns them. you could have a standoff or miscommunication that happens and ultimately wind up sparking some sort of military engagement. they want to make sure that everything that occurs there is handled quite carefully and they are watching those developments closely. senior administration officials tell you they feel as if they have the superior strength when it comes to military effort in the strait of hormuz and they think that sanctions are working. they do believe iran is

iran has responded to the sanctions by threatening to close the strait of hormuz, a major shipping lane for crude oil. an nhk crew was allowed into a key port on this strait. >> reporter: iranian navy held a major drill in the strait of hormuz from late december to january. iran says it will begin another exercise this month in the same area. across syria lates the strait of hormuz. a vital intersection for commercial ships coming into and goint of the persian gulf. the military and the irgc have recently staged several maneuvers in this region. we received special permission to report from here. iran is believed to be amassings its forces in the port city to ski the strait. iran's leaders are maintaining a confrontational stance against the west and israel. >> translator: our country has the means to retaliate against sanctions and attacks. >> reporter: iran launched a domestically produced satellite last week prompting concerns that it could soon develop a ballistic missile. but we saw evidence that the sanctions are clearly hurting iranians. workers say there aren't as many trucks at

. >> here is where some feared such a confrontation might happen, the straits of hormuz in the gulf which is the narrow channel through which 1/5 of the world's oil is traded. iran has threatened to close the straits. the u.s. has insisted it must remain open and that iran must not be allowed to threaten of

and the drama is plague out in the strait of hormuz. a waterway that carries one fifth of the world's oil supply. martha is just back from a new navy destroyer that steamed through the strait this week which is very dramatic. how tense was it there? >> i was on a destroyer, a carrier, back and forth. you have briefings from all sorts of admirals and commanders and the one message they wanted to get out is this is just business as usual. it's not tense here. it's fine. of course the iranian navy will come out and check us out. we're going through this waterway. which makes me believe they're pretty tense. because everybody is saying they're not tense. gwen: protesting. >> protesting a bit too much. exactly. when you go through the straight of hormuz and we've all read about it. it is very dramatic when you go through there. you can see them on one side and way, way off in the distance you can see iran. only about two miles wide. at one upon the where the shipping lanes are. and iranian craft that come to -- toward our boat. now, i think t

in the strait of hormuz. one-fifth of the world's oil supply has to pass through this gateway, 10% of all the oil used in america. as we said today, three u.s. warships navigated those warnings, defying threats from iran. and abc's senior correspondent martha raddatz was onboard. >> reporter: it was just after dawn when the three u.s. warships and the carrier strike group began their long, tense transit through the strait of hormuz. where just months ago, iranians warned u.s. warships not to return. >> you want to be always at the max state of readiness. >> reporter: we are on the lead ship, the "uss sterett," a destroyer with dozens of missiles and machine guns. on the bridge the concentration is intense. surveillance tracking everything that moves. but the iranians were silently shadowing us as well. iranian navy vessels, drones, and a patrol plane flying overhead. the shipping is only two miles wide. so, there is very little room to maneuver. that is the massive aircraft carrier, the "uss abraham lincoln" j

to institute an embargo of their own on exports to europe, and to impede traffic through the strait of hormuz. the latter threat is of greater concern to world oil markets. 17 million barrels per day, equivalent to some 20% of global oil supplies pass through the strait. to a degree, such threats have already been factored into market prices, we believe, and the likelihood of a prolonged blockage of hormuz transits is seen as being fairly low. mr. chairman, in sum, all of this suggests that those who are seeking a more tranquil oil market in 2012 may well be disappointed. at the iea, we'll continue our monitoring of oil market conditions and in particular the availability of alternative market supplies. no physical disruption of oil supply has occurred yet, but as always, the agency will remain vigilant and stands ready to act rapidly and decisively if a major disruption occurs. thank you, mr. chairman. >> thank you very much. mr. burkhard, go right ahead. >> mr. chairman and senator murkowski and other members of the committee, thank for the opportunity to share some thoughts with you today.

of strait. it's very shallow, 200 feet. 30% of the transported crude flows through the straits of hormuz. if those shut down for any amount of time, maybe two month, the price will spike dramatically. it is a national security issue. you don't have to take my word for it. the department of state agrees. we had a similar issue about three years ago. a pipeline called the alberta clipper which came from the same spot in canada and came over to the lake superior on the great lakes. this is the record of decision by the state department for the alberta clipper pipeline. i'll read one portion to you. it applies today. the department of state has determined through review of the alberta clipper project application that the alberta clipper project would serve the national interests in a time of considerable political tension and -- excuse me, in a time of considerable political tension in other major producing countries by providing additional access to a proximate, table secure ply of crude oil with minimum transportation requirements from a reliable ally and trading partner of the united states