Votel warned that an uptick in the hostile interactions between the U.S. Navy and the IRGC in the Arabian Gulf could lead to an worldwide incident.
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“So this is, in my view, not about the Iranian people”, Votel said.
Iranian state media reports say a retired Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) general has been killed while battling against Islamic militants in northern Syria. “We acknowledge all parties, all countries in that area have the right to operate in worldwide waters, but they should do so in a responsible manner and what we see with the Iranians is not particularly responsible. That type of behavior is very concerning, and we hope to see Iran’s naval forces act in a more professional manner”. The United States is less concerned about actions by the regular Iranian navy, which are typically normal.
“We assessed the interaction as unsafe and unprofessional due to the Iranian vessels not abiding by global law and internationally recognized maritime rules of the road as well as their high rate of closure of Nitze and disregard of multiple warnings by the ship’s whistle and flares”, Raines said of the latest incident.
Crewmen of the USS Squall were forced to open fire at an Iranian navy boat that ignored repeated warning not to come close, the US Navy said.
He said the risky confrontations “can lead to situations where we may not be able to deescalate in a time before something happens”.
“I think the big concern here is miscalculation, that I’m very confident in the measures that our maritime forces are taking. Because, ultimately, we will prevail”.
Votel went on to praise the actions of American Naval personnel during these harassments. And it remains something we’re going to have to continue to deal with in this part of the world and pay attention to. I can not say enough about the professionalism of our naval forces.
He described the move as “unsafe and unprofessional” encounter between Tehran and Washington, adding that the Iranian vessels came within 300 yards (meters) of the American destroyer.
“What I see is this is principally the regime leadership trying to exert their influence and authority in the region and they are trying to do it in provocative ways that are unsafe, unprofessional and really I think work against their objectives in the long term here”.
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The Quds Force is the elite extra-territorial special forces arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, which reports directly to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
