loading…
“Earlier today a large group of IRGCN fast attack boats carried out unsafe and unprofessional maneuvers and failed to take appropriate measures for the safety of US troops as required under international law,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told a news conference on Monday. was launched The Guardian, Tuesday (11/5/2021).
Also read: Indonesian Police Arrest Victor Yeimo, Benny Wenda Angry
Kirby said 13 Iranian fast attack ships were approaching the US ships at high speed. The dozens of ships approached six US Navy ships escorting the guided missile submarine USS Georgia across the Strait of Hormuz.
Kirby said a US Coast Guard cutter fired about 30 warning shots from .50-caliber machine guns at the Iranian ships after other warnings, including radio communications and the sound of a horn blast.
After a second round of gunfire was fired, Kirby said, the Iranian ships left the area.
Iranian officials have not commented on the Pentagon’s claims.
The interaction of ships from these two hostile countries is the second incident reported by the U.S. Navy in the last two weeks.
Also read: Israel Kalap, 20 Palestinians Killed Bombarded, Including 9 Children
Late last month, the US Fifth Fleet said in a statement that the Iranian ship had arrived within 68 yards (204 feet) of the patrol boat USS Firebolt and other American vessels in the Persian Gulf, north of the Strait of Hormuz.
According to a statement from the U.S. Fifth Fleet, the Iranian ship failed to heed radio warnings and loudspeakers and only disbanded to a safe distance after the Firebolt crew fired warning shots.
This tense ship-to-ship interaction comes as US and Iranian negotiators take part in complex indirect talks in Vienna to revive the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal.
(min)
– .
