Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) rejected claims from the Pentagon that Iranian boats “harassed” US warships in the Strait of Hormuz, an incident that led to a US Coast Guard Cutter firing 30 warning shots.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby claimed on Monday that the Iranian vessels had been acting “very aggressively.” But the IRGC said its patrol vessels encountered the US warships during “routine daily missions in the territorial waters.” The Coast Guard Cutter was accompanied by six US Navy ships, including a guided-missile submarine.
“It would be better for the Americans to avoid unprofessional behavior and not to endanger the security of the Persian Gulf by obeying the rules and regulations of the sea,” the IRGC said.
It’s not clear exactly how close the vessels were to Iran’s coast when the encounter happened. But the Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway, only 30 nautical miles at its narrowest point. The US sending such a large naval flotilla through the channel is a provocation in itself and does nothing but escalate tensions.
The incident marked the second time within a month that US warships fired warning shots during encounters in the region with Iranian vessels. Both incidents involved US Coast Guard vessels. On Twitter on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif asked the US Coast Guard: “Exactly whose coast are you supposed to be ‘guarding?'”
“Exactly whose coast are you supposed to be ‘guarding?’” is a perfect example why those we label as “dictators” would be regime-changed by the west. We just cannot allow such “dictators” to ask a legitimate question.
The Coast Guard, OUR Coast Guard, is on the other side of the world firing warning shots at Iranian speedboats. Thirty years ago people would be saying: “What the F*ck”? Not anymore. An unbelievable propaganda machine at its finest has sheeplefied the population.
It is safe to bet that these Coast Guard ships are loaded with electronics to spy on Iran.
There is no international waters at Strait of Hormuz… Its territorial water belongs to Iran & Oman. Until US Navy realize this fact they will be confronted with Iran Navy whenever they pass this waterway…!
America… Chicken of the sea.
A big deal is being made about those ’30 warning shots’ fired by the Coast Guard. Those shots were fired from a pedestal mounted .50 caliber machine gun which, although potentially deadly, amounts to about 5-6 second of trigger time. Not exactly a major effort to safeguard US Navy warships.