A spokesman for US Central Command, Navy Commander Kyle Raines, has confirmed that a number of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard vessels launched rockets “in close proximity” to the warships and other merchant traffic “after providing only 23 minutes of advance notification”, Reuters reported.
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TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran has denied US accusations of launching a provocative rocket test last week near Western warships in the Strait of Hormuz, dismissing the claim as “psychological warfare” against the Islamic Republic. Truman aircraft carrier, the USS Bulkeley destroyer and a French frigate, the FS Provence, were passing through it, said Cmdr. Iranian officials could not be immediately reached.
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In Washington, sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday the US government was preparing the sanctions, which the Wall Street Journal said would target about 12 companies and individuals in Iran, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates for their suspected role in developing Iran’s missile programme.
Before, a United States aircraft carrier came within about 1,500 yards of an Iranian rocket while operating in the Strait of Hormuz, a Pentagon official told CNN on December 30.
File picture of a rocket being fired from an Iranian military boat during Velayat-90 war game on Sea of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran.
In the past, Iran has threatened to block the strait, which lies at the entrance of the Arabian Gulf.
“Firing weapons so close to passing coalition ships and commercial traffic within an internationally recognized maritime traffic lane is unsafe, unprofessional and inconsistent with worldwide maritime law”, he said.
The U.S. disagrees, saying the Treasury’s right to “blacklist Iranian entities allegedly involved in missile development” is a separate activity from the nuclear deal’s provisions.
The unguided rockets, even assuming they hit the Truman, would not be enough to sink the vessel, but a strike could have damaged it. Rather than rockets, the real danger to US vessels in the region would be from sea mines, which are responsible for damaging or sinking the majority of USA vessels lost since World War II.
The incident threatens to cause new tensions between the two nations following a landmark nuclear deal.
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So far, there’s been no official comment on the latest missile launch from Iran, but state-run news agency Fars said the incident was planned and all vessels in the area were warned ahead of time.
