What on earth is Iran up to?

If it's correct that Iran is behind the attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman - and there seems little doubt about it - Tehran and the ayatollahs deserve what's coming to them. What an outrageous piece of state-sponsored terrorism. What on earth does Iran think it's doing? Tehran has of course denied being involved but the evidence is overwhelming. Video footage taken by a US reconnaissance plane showed multiple fast boats - the classic vessels used by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard - milling around the tankers and one fast boat, unbelievably, sidling up to one of the tankers and trying to remove a limpit mine which had failed to go off. Caught fair and square. The probem is what does the US, and the rest of the international community do about it? US Central Command has been busy putting out statements over the past two days but in one of them a spokesman emphasised that the US does not want a war with Iran. But the way Iran is going it looks almost as if they are deliberately tryng to provoke the US into striking back. Why I can't imagine. But how many more tankers are going to be attacked before the US responds. Central Command has said the US will defend its interests and protect international shipping in the Gulf waterway. So will they wait until the next tanker is hit before retaliating or will they take some form of military action to deter further attacks? Tensions are so high in the Gulf that any major action by the US is bound to cause a huge reaction from Iran. It's a dangerous time. The US has to get it right and, first of all, they have to prove to the rest of the international community that those video pictures point, without any doubt, to Tehran's involvement. Despite Iran's denial, you have to ask yourself, who else could have done it? Isis are not in this game and don't have fast boats to carry out this sort of attack. No other state would be involved. So it's down to Iran. The next few days are going to be crucial - and dangerous.