The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said on Wednesday that two of the Iranian vessels came within 300 yards of the USS Nitze in an incident that was “unsafe and unprofessional”. Besides the two patrol ships, the Squall and Tempest, two US destroyers, the Stout and the USS Nitze, also were involved.
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The U.S. fired flares and attempted radio communication with the Iranian boats but both were unsuccessful, so the Squall fired a few shots into the water as a deterrent.
He described the Iranian behaviour as “unsafe, unprofessional – and not routine”. The sailors drifted into Iranian waters after a mechanical failure and sparked an worldwide incident.
Four of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) vessels “harassed” a USA warship on Tuesday near the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. defense official said, amid Washington’s concerns about Iran’s posture in the Gulf and in the Syrian civil war.
USA and Iranian navies in the Persian Gulf have long eyed each other warily, despite diplomatic efforts between the two countries.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted Gen. Hosein Dehghan as saying that “if any foreign vessel enters our waters, we warn them, and if it’s an invasion, we confront”.
On Thursday, Iran’s defense minister said those Iranian vessels were just doing their job.
The Iranian boat came within 200 yards of the USS Squall on Wednesday before the American patrol ship fired three shots.
In a separate incident, video footage from on board the USS Nitze warship shows several small boats approaching the destroyer at high speed.
It said the US ship fired the shots into the water after the Iranian ship did not leave after a brief radio conversation, CNN said, citing USA officials.
Spokesman Peter Cook said it was one of several incidents of Iranian vessels harassing USA ships in the past week.
“We will monitor them and – if they violate our waters – we will confront them”. As provocative as the actions of the Iranian vessels were, they did not seem important enough for the “Big Three” network news outlet who didn’t report about the engagement at all, Thursday evening.
New confrontations between the U.S. Navy and vessels from Iran, adding to a growing list of Iran’s provocative actions against the United States, but this time shots were fired.
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In December, as part of a life-fire exercise, Iran’s military fired a rocket near the American aircraft carrier, the USS Harry Truman. The official spoke to CNN anonymously to discuss military matters. The sailors were released soon after.
