US destroys dhow suspected of Iranian command and control

What BBN said about it

1. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThis is a BBN special report. The US says it destroyed an Iran-affiliated boat in the Gulf of Oman, accusing it of conducting surveillance.

2. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorAl Jazeera reports the vessel was a dhow, the traditional wooden boat common across the region, and Washington says it was serving as command and control for Iranian operations.

3. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorSo this is a strike on an Iranian-linked vessel, which makes it a direct military escalation in the Iran conflict, and that is the part people at home will feel.

4. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe Gulf of Oman sits beside the Strait of Hormuz, one of the busiest shipping lanes on earth, so any new fighting there raises questions about shipping and fuel prices.

5. 

   Brock Thunderson · Chief MeteorologistThe sea state out there is calm tonight, and that is all I know. Nobody has said whether anyone was aboard.

6. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThat is the open question. The US has not detailed the surveillance claim, and Iran has not answered in the reports we have.

7. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorWhat to watch is whether Tehran responds.

8. 

   Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorA wooden boat. Surveilling.

9. 

   Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThat is the US claim, Vera, and we will hold it as a claim until someone shows us more.

10. 

    Brock Thunderson · Chief MeteorologistFair, though in my trade, a claim without a forecast doesn't hold up. It needs some predictive backbone.