Editing Operation Praying Mantis (section)

{{short description|1988 U.S. naval offensive against Iran during the Iran-Iraq War}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2020}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Operation Praying Mantis
| partof            = the [[Iran–Iraq War]]
| image             = OperationPrayingMantis-IS Alvand.jpg
| image_size        = 300px
| caption           = The Iranian frigate {{ship|IRIS|Sahand|1969|2}} attacked by aircraft of U.S. Navy Carrier Air Wing 11 after the guided missile frigate {{USS|Samuel B. Roberts|FFG-58|6}} struck an Iranian mine
| date              = 18 April 1988
| place             = [[Persian Gulf]], Iranian [[territorial waters]]
| casus             = Iranian mining of {{USS|Samuel B. Roberts|FFG-58|6}}
| territory         = 
| result            = United States victory
| combatant1        = {{flagicon|United States}} [[United States]]
| combatant2        = {{flagicon|Iran}} [[Islamic Republic of Iran|Iran]]
| commander1        = {{flagicon|USA}} [[Anthony A. Less|Rear Adm. Anthony A. Less]]<ref>{{cite book|
author=Peniston, Bradley|
title=No Higher Honor: Saving the USS Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian Gulf|
url=http://www.navybook.com/nohigherhonor|
location=Annapolis|
publisher=Naval Institute Press|
year=2006|
isbn=1-59114-661-5|
access-date=25 March 2006|
archive-date=12 July 2006|
archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712122740/http://www.navybook.com/nohigherhonor/|
url-status=live}}, p. 179.</ref>
| commander2        = {{flagicon|Iran}} IRIN Commodore [[Mohammad-Hossein Malekzadegan]]<ref>{{Cite news |title=Iranians' Words of Praise for Their Forces |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.comhttp//timesmachine.content-tagging.us-east-1-01.prd.dvsp.nyt.net/timesmachine/1988/04/27/916188.html?pageNumber=22 |access-date=2024-02-06 |work=The New York Times |language=en}}</ref>
| strength1         = 1 [[USS Enterprise (CVN-65)|aircraft carrier]]<br>1 [[USS Trenton (LPD-14)|amphibious transport dock]]<br>4 [[destroyer]]s<br>1 [[guided missile cruiser]]<br>3 [[frigate]]s<br>[[Bell AH-1 SuperCobra|AH-1T]] attack helicopters<br>[[A-6E Intruder]] attack jets
| strength2         = 2 frigates<br>1 [[La Combattante II type fast attack craft|missile boat]]<br>6 [[Boghammar]] speedboats (estimated)<br>2 [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II|F-4 fighters]]<br>[[ZU-23]] guns on 2 [[Oil platform|platforms]]
| casualties1       = 2 killed<br>1 helicopter crashed (cause unknown)
| casualties2       = 1 frigate sunk (45 crew killed)<ref name="irna">[https://web.archive.org/web/20110726231418/https://www.irna.ir/NewsShow.aspx?NID=30345346] (archived from [https://web.archive.org/web/20110726231418/https://www.irna.ir/NewsShow.aspx?NID=30345346 the original] on 26 July 2011)</ref><br>1 gunboat sunk (11 crew killed)<ref name="irna" /><br>3 speedboats sunk<br>1 frigate crippled<br>2 platforms destroyed<ref name="wikimapia.org">{{cite web|url=http://wikimapia.org/15625887/Operation-Praying-Mantis-Sirri-Oil-Platform-Attack|title=Operation Praying Mantis: Sirri Oil Platform Attack|website=wikimapia.org|access-date=3 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307022632/http://wikimapia.org/15625887/Operation-Praying-Mantis-Sirri-Oil-Platform-Attack|archive-date=7 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> <br>1 fighter damaged<br>'''Total:'''<br>56 killed<br>2 ships and 3 boats sunk
| notes             = 
| campaignbox       = {{Campaignbox Iran-Iraq War}}
}}

'''Operation Praying Mantis''' was the 18 April 1988 attack by the [[United States]] on [[Iran]]ian naval targets in the [[Persian Gulf]] in retaliation for the [[naval mine|mining]] of a U.S. warship four days earlier.<ref name="usni1">{{cite news |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2013/march/one-day-war |title=One Day of War |date=March 2013 }}</ref>

On 14 April, the American [[Frigate#Guided-missile role|guided missile frigate]] {{USS|Samuel B. Roberts|FFG-58|6}} struck a mine while transiting [[international waters]] as part of [[Operation Earnest Will]], the 1987–88 effort to protect reflagged{{explain|date=January 2025}} [[Kuwait]]i [[oil tanker]]s from [[Tanker War|Iranian attacks]] during the [[Iran–Iraq War]]. The explosion pierced the hull and broke the [[keel]] of the ''Samuel B. Roberts'', which nearly sank but was saved by its crew with no loss of life.

After the serial numbers of mines recovered in the area were found to match those of mines seized on an Iranian [[barge]] the previous September, U.S. military officials planned a retaliatory operation. On 18 April, the attack destroyed, damaged, or sank two Iranian [[oil platform]]s, three warships, several armed boats, and two fighter jets. Two U.S. Marine aviators died when their helicopter crashed into the Gulf.

The attack pressured Iran to agree to a ceasefire with Iraq later that summer, ending the eight-year Iran-Iraq War.<ref>{{cite book |last=Peniston |first=Bradley |title=No Higher Honor: Saving the USS Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian Gulf |url=http://www.navybook.com/nohigherhonor |location=Annapolis |publisher=Naval Institute Press |year=2006 |isbn=1-59114-661-5 |page=217 |access-date=25 March 2006 |archive-date=12 July 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712122740/http://www.navybook.com/nohigherhonor/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Later, Iran sued the United States, claiming that the attacks had breached the countries' [[Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights|1955 Treaty of Amity]]. On 6 November 2003, the [[International Court of Justice]] dismissed the claim but ruled that Operation Praying Mantis and the previous October's [[Operation Nimble Archer]] "cannot be justified as measures necessary to protect the essential security interests of the United States of America."<ref name=IOCjudgement2003>{{cite web|title=Case Concerning Oil Platforms (Islamic Republic of Iran v. United States of America)|url=http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/90/9715.pdf|publisher=International Court of Justice|access-date=26 December 2012|date=6 November 2003|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121014012509/http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/90/9715.pdf|archive-date=14 October 2012}}</ref>

Praying Mantis was the largest of the [[U.S. Navy]]'s five major surface engagements since [[World War II]].{{efn|The others are the [[Korean War]]'s [[Battle of Chumonchin Chan]], the [[Vietnam War]]'s [[Gulf of Tonkin incident]] and [[Battle of Dong Hoi|Battle of Đồng Hới]], and the 1986 [[Action in the Gulf of Sidra (1986)|Action in the Gulf of Sidra]].}} It saw the [[History of the United States Navy|U.S. Navy]]'s first exchange of [[anti-ship missile]]s with opposing ships, and its only sinking of a major surface combatant since World War II.