Iranian Ships Confront US Destroyer in Latest Threatening Incident
A U.S. Navy warship was harassed by four smaller Iranian boats Thursday.
The Iranian forces ignored warnings as they raced toward the guided missile destroyer USS Nitze.
The U.S. Navy described the incident as "unsafe and unprofessional" and said it occurred in international waters in the narrow Strait of Hormuz. That's at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, an area where Iran has threatened U.S. Navy vessels before.
A U.S. defense official said the Iranian boats approached the Nitze at high speed. The destroyer fired ten flares in the direction of the Iranian boats and sounded the ship's whistle several times to warn the boats away, the spokesperson said.
The Nitze also tried to communicate with the Iranians over the radio, and even changed course to avoid the vessels.
U.S. Navy video of the incident obtained by The Associated Press shows American sailors on the Nitze firing flares and sounding the warship's horn as the Iranian boats approached.
In another incident in January, Iran briefly held 10 U.S. Navy sailors hostage.
Last December, Iranian ships fired rockets near a U.S. warship and other vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and a month later flew an unarmed drone over the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf.
