A propeller of an E-2C Hawkeye is seen as plane captains stand by to receive planes on the flight deck of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), during flight operations in the Gulf, ahead of a transit through the Strait of Hormuz, February 13, 2012. REUTERS-Jumana El Heloueh
 
 
An Iranian warship and speed boats take part in a naval war game in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, southern Iran, April 22, 2010.REUTERS-Fars News
 
 
U.S. warships carrying 17,000 personnel enter the Gulf in a show of force off Iran's coast, May 22, 2007. REUTERS-U.S. Fifth Fleet
 
 
An Iranian warship and speed boats take part in a naval war game in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, southern Iran, April 22, 2010.REUTERS-Fars News
 
 
Military personnel place a flag on a submarine during the Velayat-90 war games by the Iranian navy in the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran, December 27, 2011. REUTERS-IIPA-Ali Mohammadi
 
 
Sailors install slot seals in a catapult track after launching aircraft as the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson passes through a storm in the Arabian Sea, January 21, 2012. REUTERS-U.S. Navy-Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans
 
 
Sailors participate in an FOD (Foreign Object Debris) walkdown combing the flight deck in preparation of flight operations on the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) during a transit through the Strait of Hormuz, February 14, 2012. REUTERS-Jumana El Heloueh
 
 
Iranian military personnel participate in the Velayat-90 war game in unknown location near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran, December 30, 2011. REUTERS-Fars News-Hamed Jafarnejad
 
 
A military personnel participates in the Velayat-90 war game on Sea of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran, December 28, 2011.REUTERS-Fars News-Hamed Jafarnejad
 
 
Members of Iran's Navy cheer after launching a long-range shore-to-sea missile called Qader (Capable) during the Velayat-90 war game on the Sea of Oman's shore near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran, January 2, 2012. REUTERS-Jamejamonline-Ebrahim Norouzi