WarSclerotic

Iranian ships taunt US Navy vessels in Persian Gulf | Herald Sun.

Iranian navy speed boats attend a drill in the sea of Oman. AP

The incidents in the strait, one of the world’s most important oil routes, occurred in early January and involved the USS New Orleans, an amphibious transport dock, and the Coast Guard Cutter Adak, the military said as it released videos of the incident.

Iranian speed boats are seen in one of the videos approaching the USS New Orleans within about 500 yards last Friday.

“The Iranian boats did not respond to whistle signal or voice queries from the New Orleans, disregarding standard maritime protocols,” Central Command said.

In the incident involving the Adak, “communications were established with a larger Iranian ship operating in the area and the speed boats ceased their harassment”.

One senior defense official told FOX News that the Iranians “intended to be harassing” but it did not go much beyond that. No shots were fired.

Iran, which recently held war games in the area, has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz if provoked, and it has warned US Navy ships to steer clear.

The rising tensions coincide with increased pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, which the West fears is merely a front for Iran’s clandestine work on developing nuclear weapons

This entry was posted on January 14, 2012 at 12:36 PM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.