The Iranian boat sped away after the USS Squall fired the three warning shots into the waters ahead of the speeding boat to warn it off.
Advertisement
The Squall, a patrol craft, and the USS Tempest, were operating in close formation with a Kuwaiti Navy ship in the North Arabian Gulf when the Iranian boat came dangerously close.
Besides the two patrol ships, the Squall and Tempest, two USA destroyers, the Stout and the USS Nitze, also were involved. 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.
Three Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels approached the patrol ships USS Squall and USS Tempest at high speed in the northern Persian Gulf Wednesday; later in the day, a single Iranian ship came within 200 yards of the Tempest, which shot flares and used a loudspeaker to communicate.
The Iranian ship circled the USA ships, coming within 200 yards of the vessels, and would not leave the area, according to CNN.
The incidents are just the latest in a series of recent tense encounters between the two nations.
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson told the Associated Press that the incident with Nitze raised questions about what is the new normal in the volatile relationship with Iran. Others point out that the Iranian boats would have been in trouble if the U.S. Arleigh Burke-class destroyer had chosen to escalate the situation by firing on them.
In the wake of Tuesday’s incident, the Nitze and US Naval Forces Central Command have determined that the Iranian vessels were violating global law and maritime standards, acting dangerously and unprofessionally.
Despite the Nitze’s close proximity to off-shore oil rigs, the ship altered course to move away from the approaching Iranian vessels and avoid a potential collision.
Tensions nearly spilled over in January when Iran detained a group of 10 US Navy sailors who had seemingly erred into Iranian waters accidentally on launches.
The Nitze and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command assessed the interaction as unsafe and unprofessional. They were later released, but the brief capture of the Americans was seized upon by Republicans in the United States presidential contest as evidence of weakness on the foreign stage on the part of Barack Obama.
Dehghan’s comments came after four Iranian small boats sailed near the guided missile destroyer USS Nitze on Wednesday in the Persian Gulf. In that incident, the Nitze sounded its warning horn and fired 10 flares into the air after the Iranian craft ignored radio warnings.
“If the U.S. Navy enters the Iranian maritime domain, they will definitely receive warning”, Mr. Dehghan was quoted by the Iranian Students News Agency as saying on Thursday.
In January Iran took 10 US sailors captive.
Advertisement
But Iran remained defiant in the face of USA accusations. “After warning shots, if the commander on scene believes there is hostile intent, the unit will take the targets under fire”.
