A fighter jet takes off from U.S. aircraft carrier the Abraham Lincoln as it sails through the Strait of Hormuz near the coast of Iran.<br/> <br />A U.S. destroyer sails behind the aircraft carrier.<br/> <br />Helicopters buzz around the skies overhead.<br/> <br />A commander on board said it is a routine voyage and nothing to do with tensions with Iran.<br/> <br />(SOUNDBITE) (English) COMMANDER OF THE CARRIER STRIKE GROUP NINE, ADMIRAL TROY SHOEMAKER, SAYING<br/> <br />"If you listen to the rhetoric that the Iranians have, you know, that we have heard in the press, at least from their perspective you might think that there are some tensions, we obviously pay attention to that as we go through, but I think, you know, we are conducting the transit as part of our normal business we are doing - moving from the Arabian Gulf into the Gulf of Oman, north Arabian Sea. Our intention, our hope, is to keep it professional and routine and so far it has been that."<br/> <br />Iranian officials have threatened to close the channel through which 20 percent of global oil exports pass.<br/> <br />The E.U. and U.S. have campaigned for a ban on Iranian oil imports, claiming Iran is attempting to build a nuclear bomb.<br/> <br />Tehran, which insists its atomic energy programme is civilian only, hopes that Asian countries will continue to buy any oil which Europe rejects.<br/> <br />Nick Rowlands, Reuters.
