Late a year ago, Revolutionary Guard point fired rockets near the Harry S. Truman carrier strike group from about 1,000 meters away.
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A U.S. Cyclone class patrol ship on August 25 fired warning shots after Iranian fast-attack boats “harassed” the American vessel in waters north of the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy said.
There have been several incidents involving Iranian naval vessels maneuvering close to us naval vessels in recent months.
The U.S. asserts that the ships were in global waters at the time.
The same Iranian boat that harassed the USS Tempest also crossed in front of the USS Stout three times at a high rate of speed on Wednesday in the same region. Tempest sounded five short blasts from the ship’s whistle, indicating the maneuvers were unsafe, and attempted to establish radio communications, apparently without success.
At one point, the Iranian vessel came within 200 yards (183 meters) of a US ship, the official said. That vessel approached Tempest head-on to within 200 yards, said Cmdr. Bill Urban, a spokesman for the US Navy’s Central Command (NAVCENT) in Bahrain.
The Iranian vessels forced the USS Nitze to change course in order to avoid a potential collision, the official said, adding that the incident could have triggered a diplomatic protest if Washington had diplomatic relations with Tehran. The video shows Iranian boats evading US flares and coming within a dangerously close distance of the Nitze.
The aggressive behavior of the Iranian vessel prompted the USS Squall to fire three warning shots with its.50-caliber gun and the USS Tempest to fire three warning flares, according to the official, who said the Iranian vessel then turned away.
In January, the Iranian navy captured 10 crewmembers from two American patrol boats that strayed into Iranian waters. “No one was injured or hit by the warning shots”, he said.
Later that day, the destroyer Stout, part of the deployed Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group, was operating in the same area when the same Naser-class WAP vessel approached, proceeding across the bow three times at close range. All of the instances took place in worldwide waters in the northern Persian Gulf.
“The Iranian vessels were within 12,000 yards of Nitze and 5,000 yards of Tempest”, Urban said. These brushes have included Iranian rocket launches, drones flying over USA vessels and the capture of United States sailors in January.
“These were incidents that the crews deemed unsafe”, Cook said.
Iranian ships made reckless maneuvers close to four US warships this week in a series of incidents that could have led to risky escalation, defense officials said Thursday.
In January, 10 San Diego sailors were detained by Iranian small boats when two US riverine craft strayed into Iranian waters and one broke down.
The incidents are the latest sign of U.S.
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“The US Navy continues to remain vigilant and is trained to act in a professional manner, and we expect the same of all nations with professional maritime forces”. Iran broadcast the sailor’s detentions on television, including video of a Navy Lt. apologizing on camera, in violation of USA military regulations.
