Four ships belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) “harassed” an American destroyer in the Strait of Hormuz Tuesday, a U.S. Navy official confirmed to Fox News.
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The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Nitze was “harassed” by four Iranian Revolutionary Guard small craft on Tuesday, some of them coming as close as 300 yards to the ship as it was in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz, a Department of Defense official said today.
Video of the incident was circulating online Wednesday.
The official characterized the encounter as “unsafe and unprofessional” and said the four Iranian speed boats “came way too close for comfort”. But the Iranian boats ignored the warnings. The IRGCN also arrested 10 riverine sailors at gunpoint after they strayed into Iranian waters and held them for day, an incident which Iranian officials proclaimed as a victory.
In a statement, US Navy Central Command (NAVCENT) “assessed the interaction as unsafe and unprofessional due to the Iranian vessels not abiding by global law and maritime standards including the 1972 Convention on the worldwide Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) maritime “Rules of the Road”.
The IRGC, the Islamic Republic’s praetorian guard, is suspicious of USA military activity near Iran’s borders.
The Nitze and guided missile destroyer USS Mason were transiting global waters in the vicinity of the strait when approached by four Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels at a high rate of speed.
In December, Iran conducted a live-fire exercise with little notice just 1,500 yards away from USA and French aircraft carriers that were transiting the strait.
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It’s the latest in a string of Iranian warships taunting and testing USA ships in the Persian Gulf.
