Without referring directly to the latest incidents, Dehghan said, “If any foreign vessel enters our waters, we warn them, and if it’s an invasion, we confront”, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported. Spokesman Peter Cook said the shots were fired after the USS Squall found “unacceptable” behaviour by some Iranian boats in yet another alleged incident of harassment of USA vessels in worldwide waters.
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The close calls came a day after four Iranian vessels harassed the USS Nitze, another Arleigh-Burke class guided- missile destroyer, as it transited the Strait of Hormuz. Officials said an Iranian boat was speeding towards it head-on and came within 200 yards only to turn around when a second United States vessel nearby fired three warning shots.
Video released by the Navy showed two of those boats continuing a fast approach on the Nitze as it blares a danger whistle and fires flares.
Reacting to the incident, Adm. John Richardson, the chief of naval operations, today said that it reflects America’s naval tensions with Tehran. He said the USA ships are conducting themselves in a safe and professional manner and they will continue to take whatever steps they need to protect themselves.
A US defence official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Squall patrol craft fired three warning shots from a.50 caliber gun in the northern Gulf on Wednesday after warning flares did not work.
Four of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vessels “harassed” the Nitze, a USA defense official said.
Anyone who thinks that these incidents are precipitated by rogue elements of the Revolutionary Guards without authorization at the highest levels of the Iranian government are dreaming.
In Tuesday’s incident, the USS Nitze tried to communicate with the Iranian vessels 12 times but received no response. The crew of the USS Tempest fired flares to warn off the approaching vessel and was able to make brief radio contact, but the Iranian vessel continued its approach.
U.S. President Barack Obama (R) tours the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Ross at Naval Station Rota in Rota, Spain July 10, 2016.
Whether American or otherwise, he said, “any destroyer of any sort would be severely punished if they are found to encroach our waters in Persian Gulf”.
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The new incidents follow a Tuesday clash between a quartet of IRGCN patrol boats and the guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG-94).
