Iran Slams Provocation as US Ships Fire on Patrol Boat

Navy Claims Iran Boat Didn't Follow 'Rules of the Road'

Jason Ditz 

Posted onJuly 25, 2017CategoriesNewsTagsIran, Pentagon

Iranian officials were deeply critical today of an incident in which US warships fired “warning shots” at a small Iranian patrol boat that was operating off the coast of Iran. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard called it a “provocation” by US forces.

US Navy officials claimed the Iranian boat didn’t “follow the rules of the road,” and was a collision risk, though they conceded the boat was never less than 150 yards from any US warship in the first place.

This has been a recurring problem, with the US making a point of having a number of warships parked off the Iranian coast, and getting furious every time Iran’s own navy sends ships anywhere near them, even though the Iranian ships are usually in their own territorial water.

The US often faults Iran’s Navy as “unprofessional” in patrolling near the US ships, though Iran has been quick to note that it’s not like they’re sending ships into the Gulf of Mexico to park off the US coast, and that the US ships are nowhere near the US.

http://news.antiwar.com/2017/07/25/iran-slams-provocation-as-us-ships-fire-on-patrol-boat/