Pentagon says US Navy fired warning shots at Iran boats in Gulf
(Worthy News) – A US Navy vessel fired warning shots toward three Iranian military speed boats in the Gulf this week to warn them after they sped close to the ship, the Navy said Tuesday.
The three fast inshore attack craft operated by the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy came within 68 yards (62 meters) of the USS Firebolt and the US Coast Guard vessel Baranoff on Monday in international waters in the northern part of the Gulf, the Navy said.
“The US crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio and loud-hailer devices,” a statement from the US Fifth Fleet said. [ Source: Times of Israel (Read More…) ]
‘Unsafe maneuvers’: U.S., Iranian ships had 3-hour encounter in the Persian Gulf this month
Iranian ships conducted “unsafe maneuvers” and ignored U.S. military warnings for three hours during a dangerous encounter in the Persian Gulf earlier this month, Pentagon officials said.
An Iranian warship and three smaller fast-attack craft cut in front of Coast Guard vessels on April 2, risking a collision and putting the crews of both vessels in jeopardy. Officials with the Navy’s Fifth Fleet told The Associated Press in a statement that the Iranian ships acknowledged U.S. communications but refused to heed repeated warnings.
“The U.S. crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio, five short blasts from the ships’ horns, and while the [Iranian ship] Harth 55 responded to the bridge-to-bridge radio queries, they continued the unsafe maneuvers,” said Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, Fifth Fleet spokesperson. “After approximately three hours of the U.S. issuing warning and conducting defensive maneuvers, the [Iranian] vessels maneuvered away from the U.S. ships and opened distance between them.” [ Source: Washington Times (Read More…) ]