How to respond to Iran’s provocations

According to the U.S. government, Iran carried out attacks against tankers transporting oil to American allies in the Gulf of Oman. In doing so, Iran has raised the stakes in its confrontation with the United States. One thing is clear: If we do not respond to the hostile actions by Iran, they will increase in number and intensity.

What should be the answer to Iran’s flagrant actions, which Kuwait’s ambassador to the United Nations, Mansour Al-Otaibi, said contradict international law and are criminal?

First, Iran should be issued a warning to not repeat such outrages. Second, it’s important to immediately declare that the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz are out of bounds for Iran. Therefore, any Iranian ship found there should be destroyed.

Iran has gone too far and will go further if there is no response. President Donald Trump understands substantial retaliation is needed, but will the American public allow sanctions of Iran? Nelson Marans

New York City

As a communications scholar, I want to call attention to how an event such as the tanker attack can become an excuse to wage an unwanted and unjustified war, reminiscent of the Gulf of Tonkin incident. Through rhetoric, President Lyndon Johnson created a crisis surrounding the 1964 incident, persuading Congress to pass a unilateral resolution sending troops to Vietnam.

Notably, the president’s Gulf of Tonkin speeches drew from a memo by Walt Rostow, who was, at the time, the chairman of the State Department’s Policy Planning Council. Rostow drafted the memo before the attacks, arming LBJ with ammunition to rally Americans behind sending troops into war thousands of miles away. It simultaneously reconciled LBJ’s private decision to intervene with his prior public, antiwar rhetoric.

Although 55 years ago, the Gulf of Tonkin incident should give us pause today. We must wonder how Trump, an unpredictable and arguably dangerous leader, will respond to Iran — given his and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s harsh statements towards Iran. Richard Cherwitz University of Texas professor Austin, Texas