WASHINGTON DC — A
US military ship fired warning shots after
three vessels from Iran’s
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) came
close to it and another American patrol boat in the Gulf, the United States
military said on Tuesday
اضافة اعلان
Such incidents have occurred occasionally over the past five
years, though there has been a relative lull over the past year.
While officials said it was too early to discern the exact
motivation of the Iranian forces, they have said that generally in the past
such incidents are carried out by local commanders rather than directed by
senior Iranian leaders.
“The
US crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge
radio and loud-hailer devices, but the IRGCN vessels continued their close
range maneuvers,” the military statement said.
“The crew of Firebolt then fired warning shots, and the
IRGCN vessels moved away to a safe distance from the US vessels,” the statement
added, using the name for the US Navy patrol ship.
The closest the Iranian fast inshore attack craft came to
the American ships was 68 yards during the incident, which took place on Monday
in international water in the northern Gulf.
The incident comes as world powers and Iran seek to speed up
efforts to bring Washington and Tehran back into compliance with the 2015
nuclear accord, and the United States has reassured its Gulf Arab allies on the
status of the talks.
Earlier on Tuesday, the head of US forces in the Middle East
said that the US military was careful not to let incidents with the IRGCN turn
into a cycle provocation, though he did not specifically talk about Monday’s
interaction.
“The activities we typically see from the IRGC Navy are not
necessarily activities that are directed by the Supreme Leader or from the
Iranian state, rather irresponsible actions by local commanders on the scene,”
said Marine General Kenneth McKenzie, head of US Central Command.
A US official, speaking anonymously, said the incident was
not overly concerning.
“The US is not an aggressor ... Our forces are trained,
however, to conduct effective defensive measures when necessary,” the US
military statement added.
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