“The USS Squall firing three warning shots at an Iranian vessel that engaged the US patrol”, Corke mentioned.
Advertisement
The boats allegedly continued to close in on the Nitze even as USA sailors tried to warn them away by firing off flares and sounding the ships horns.
“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.
On Tuesday, four Iranian gunboats sped within 300 yards of the USA guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze in the Strait of Hormuz.
When the Iranian boats continued to approach, “they had to take the additional steps”, Cook said at the Pentagon. They harassed the ship in a “unsafe and unprofessional” manner, according to a spokesman.
The latest incidents occurred a day after four Iranian craft “harassed” the destroyer USS Nitze in approaches that one official said “came way too close for comfort”. The Nitze also fired ten flares, without response.
USA and Iranian navies in the Persian Gulf have long eyed each other warily, despite diplomatic efforts between the two countries.
In January, the Iranian navy captured 10 crewmembers from two American patrol boats that strayed into Iranian waters. In January, a group of US sailors was detained overnight by Iranian personnel after their boats veered into Iranian waters.
Commander Urban said one of the Iranian boats from an earlier encounter conducted an “unsafe intercept” by crossing the Stout’s bow at close range.
Iranian ships harassed USA naval vessels in three recent incidents, including one that prompted an American ship to fire warning shots, a U.S. official said Thursday.
The vessel – an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer called the USS Nitze – was accosted by four IRGC ships in the narrow passageway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
Over the a year ago and a half, almost 10 percent of Iran’s interactions with the U.S. Navy were deemed unsafe or unprofessional, Urban said, adding that all maritime nations should “act in a professional manner in accordance with worldwide law”.
Because the USA doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Iran, Mr. Earnest said, “our ability to discern exactly what their intent was is limited”.
The Iranians boarded the boats, pointed their guns at the USA sailors and took them to the island where they were held overnight. He said the US ships are conducting themselves in a safe and professional manner and they will continue to take whatever steps they need to protect themselves.
Advertisement
The US Naval Forces Central Command is responsible for approximately 2.5 million square miles of area that stretches from the Arabian Gulf to the Red Sea, Gulf of Oman, parts of the Indian Ocean and 20 countries.
