Iran claims new flare-firing incident by US ships

TEHERAN: The Iranian Revolutionary Guards said yesterday that United States Navy ships came close to their vessels in the Gulf and shot flares.

The USS Nimitz and an accompanying battleship drew close to a rocket-bearing Iranian vessel on Friday, and sent out a helicopter near a number of Guards vessels close to the Resalat oil and gas platform, the Guards said in their official news site Sepah News.

“The Americans made a provocative and unprofessional move by issuing a warning and shooting flares at vessels...

“Islam’s warriors, without paying attention to this unconventional and unusual behaviour from American vessels, continued their mission in the area, and the aircraft carrier and accompanying battleship left the area.”

Last Tuesday, a US Navy ship fired warning shots when an Iranian vessel in the Gulf came within 137m, in the first such incident since President Donald Trump took office in January.

In a statement, US Naval Forces Central Command said the patrol craft, named Thunderbolt, fired the warning shots in front of the Iranian vessel after it ignored radio calls, flares and the ship’s whistle.

The vessel belonged to the Revolutionary Guards, the statement said, adding that it stopped its unsafe approach after the warning shots were fired.

A US official said the Iranian boat was armed, but that the weapons were unmanned.

The Thunderbolt was accompanied by a number of other vessels, including those from the US Coast Guard. Reuters