D+3 (12 July, 1987)
The day passes relatively quietly. Soviet forces in Yemen continue to lick their wounds while awaiting guidance and orders from Moscow regarding the next phase of operations. Further offensive action against Iran has been prohibited for the time being. It remains uncertain whether or not this will change at some point in the near future.
The 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division begins arriving in Dhahran. Its movement from Egypt is going slower than anticipated owing to a shortage of transport aircraft in practically every theater around the world. Egypt offers the use of its own C-130s to Washington. An affirmative answer does not reach Cairo until after 12 noon and a few more hours go by before the first Egyptian aircraft are ready to join the effort.
US Special Forces teams, and CIA operatives start to reach a clandestine staging area CENTCOM has established in northern Pakistan. In the coming days it plans to start dropping special operations teams into Afghanistan to launch raids on Soviet bases there, and perhaps pave the way for a more expansive operation in the near future.
D+4 (13 July, 1987)
Even with war raging across the Arabian Peninsula and Persian Gulf, oil tankers continued to arrive at and depart from Saudi and Kuwaiti ports. The number of oil tankers making the trek was only a fraction of what it had been before the war broke out, however. CENTCOM was concerned that with US Navy units stretched thin across the region, Iran would be motivated to begin attacks against oil shipments.
Motor-rifle and tank divisions of the Soviet Transcaucasian Military District continue building up in close proximity to the Iranian frontier.
D+5 (14 July, 1987)
Six B-52G bombers, and a similar number of KC-135 Stratotankers land at Diego Garcia.
One piece of news that is buried beneath a mountain of media reports from the frontlines in Europe and goes unnoticed is a statement issued by the Iraqi government reminding Saudi Arabia and Kuwait that it was Iraq that paid the price in blood and lost territory to safeguard the region from Iranian aggression. Therefore, Iraq’s existing financial debt to them should be considered ‘paid in full.’
D+6 (15 July, 1987)
Iranian naval forces attack and damage the Berkshire Express, a Kuwaiti-flagged oil tanker as it sails towards the Strait of Hormuz. In response, US Navy A-6 Intruders and A-7 Corsairs from the USS Constellation sink three Iranian warships.
A bomb explode near the palace of the Emir of Kuwait in Kuwait City. Damage is light, and there are few casualties.
A meeting between Soviet and Iraqi diplomats in the city of Kirkuk in northern Iraq raises concerns in the US intelligence community.
Third World War 1987 