US guilty of ‘false narratives’ on incident: Iran

Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard on Tuesday rejected the US Navy’s claim that fast-approaching Iranian speedboats in the Strait of Hormuz sparked a tense encounter in the already sensitive region.

The Guard’s website, sepahnews.com, published a statement on Tuesday, saying Americans were guilty of using “false narratives and unprofessional behaviour” and should more strictly “abide by international regulations”. Specifically, the statement said the Guard’s navy warned US vessels to stop their “provocative and aimless shooting”.

A day earlier, the US said the Revolutionary Guard sent 13 armed speedboats too close to

US Navy vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The Americans said a Coast Guard cutter fired warning shots when two of the Iranian boats came dangerously close.

The exchange comes as the United States and Iran engage in indirect talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which the US left in 2018. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby declined to comment when asked about the Iranians’ intentions.

“Sadly, harassment by the IRGC Navy is not a new phenomenon. It is something that all of our commanding officers and the crews of our vessels are trained to for,” Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon.

It was the second time in two weeks that a US ship opened fire to warn vessels of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.