US Ship Fires Warning Shots at Iranian Attack Craft

WASHINGTON - A U.S. ship in the North Arabian Sea resorted to firing warnings shots to get three Iranian attack craft to back off following a close encounter in international waters. .@US5thFleet has released video and images of an April 2nd unprofessional interaction by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy in #ArabianGulf. pic.twitter.com/0tGJbffFJR

The U.S. 5th Fleet issued a statement Tuesday accusing the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) boats of failing to heed radio warnings and other attempts to hail them, while coming within 62 meters of the USS Firebolt, a navy patrol ship, and the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Baranoff. The statement said the two U.S. ships were conducting routine security operations when the armed Iranian boats came “unnecessarily close” and “increased the risk of miscalculation and/or collision” during the encounter late Monday. After several failed attempts to communicate with the Iranian boats, the crew of the USS Firebolt fired warning shots, at which point the Iranian boats pulled back.