An Iranian military patrol boat came dangerously close to two U.S. Navy ships in international waters Monday night and apparently tried to blind them with a spotlight, according to a U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) press release.
CENTCOM called it “unsafe and unprofessional” conduct as the U.S. passed through the Strait of Hormuz, which provides access to the Persian Gulf as one of the most strategically important choke points in the world.
The Iranian boat crossed within 150 yards of the U.S. ships – dangerously close, particularly at night,” CENTCOM stated. The U.S. ships used audible warnings and non-lethal lasers to end the situation and completed their routine transit without another incident, according to the press release.
“This dangerous action in international waters is indicative of Iran’s destabilizing activity across the Middle East,” said CENTCOM spokesman Col. Joe Buccino.
The U.S. ships involved were USS Lewis B. Puller of the expeditionary sea base class and the guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans. The Iranian boat belonged to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy.
The U.S. ships involved were USS Lewis B. Puller of the expeditionary sea base class and the guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans. The Iranian boat belonged to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy.
The encounter came days after personnel from the Lewis B. Puller busted a fishing ship from Iran smuggling more than a million rounds of ammunition to Yemen, where Iran is backing one side in a civil war. The Fifth Fleet, of which the Lewis B. Puller is part, is intensifying efforts to break up Iranian smuggling, according to Al-Monitor.
U.S. and Iranian vessels also had a tense encounter in the Strait of Hormuz over the summer. Three armed Iranian speedboats harassed a pair of U.S. warships for an hour, with one of the boats charging a Navy ship head-on before changing course at the last second.
This was a breaking news story. The details were periodically updated as more information became available.
