US /

US Navy Warship Fires Warning Flare at Iran Speedboat

It's the second 'unsafe' sea incident in 4 months
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 22, 2022 12:54 AM CDT
US, Iran Have 2nd Tense Sea Incident in 4 Months
In this image from a video made available by the U.S. Navy, a boat of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) operates in close proximity to patrol coastal ship USS Sirocco (PC 6) and expeditionary fast transport USNS Choctaw County in the Strait of Hormuz, Monday, June 20, 2022.   (U.S. Navy via AP)

A US Navy warship fired a warning flare to wave off an Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboat coming straight at it during a tense encounter in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, officials said Tuesday. The incident on Monday involving the Guard and the Navy comes as tensions remain high over stalled negotiations over Iran's tattered nuclear deal with world powers and as Tehran enriches uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels under decreasing international oversight, the AP reports. Meanwhile, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog said Iran now plans to enrich uranium through a second set of advanced centrifuges at its underground Fordo facility amid the standoff.

The Cyclone-class patrol ship USS Sirocco and Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport USNS Choctaw County found themselves in the close encounter with three Iranian fast boats while coming through the Strait of Hormuz to enter the Persian Gulf, the Navy said. In a video released by the Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, a high-speed Guard Boghammar is seen turning head-on toward the Sirocco. The Sirocco repeatedly blows its horn at the Boghammar, which turns away as it closes in. The flare shot can be heard, but not seen, as the Boghammar passes the Sirocco with the Iranian flag flying above it. The Navy said the Boghammar came within 50 yards of the Sirocco, raising the risk of the vessels running into each other.

The overall encounter lasted about an hour, the Navy said. The Guard's "actions did not meet international standards of professional or safe maritime behavior, increasing the risk of miscalculation and collision," the Navy said. Iran did not immediately acknowledge the incident in the strategic waterway—a fifth of all traded oil passes through the strait. The Navy separately told the Associated Press that this marked the second so-called “unsafe and unprofessional” incident it had with Iran in recent months. On March 4, three Guard ships had a tense encounter for over two hours with Navy and US Coast Guard vessels as they traveled out of the Persian Gulf through the strait, the Navy said. The Navy did not elaborate on why it did not announce the previous incident, particularly since a larger vessel came even closer to an American warship in that incident. (Much more here.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X