Posted on 01/07/2008 10:27:59 AM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
US Navy commanders were moments away from firing on Iranian attack ships during a skirmish in the Straits of Hormuz, it has emerged.
A Pentagon spokesman revealed that five Iranian Revolutionary Guard Navy boats harrassed and provoked three US ships in the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf at the weekend.
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The Iranian craft came within 200 yards of the US vessels, which were sailing in international waters.
The Iranian provocations included disregarding warnings to pull back, dropping mysterious objects in the path of the US ships and a hostile radio transmission.
The Pentagon said a radio message warned: "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes."
The Iranian boats pulled away as a US Navy captain gave his crew orders to open fire.
"Five small boats were acting in a very aggressive way, charging the ships, dropping boxes in the water in front of the ships and causing our ships to take evasive manoeuvres," the Pentagon official said.
"There were no injuries but there very well could have been."
The incident further clouds US judgements about Iran's strategic intentions in the Persian Gulf. Tensions over Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons have seen the US navy and its Iranian counterparts move to a tense stand-off.
A US-led coalition has steadily built up its firepower in the sensitive strait and Iranian commanders manoeuvre dangerously in response.
In March, Iran seized 15 Royal Navy sailors and Royal Marines in the Gulf and accused them of trespassing in Iranian territory while they inspected a merchant vessel. The Government maintained that they were in Iraqi waters.
The British personnel were held for almost two weeks before being freed in what Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said was a "gift" to the British people.
Iran's Foreign Ministry had no immediate comment on the Pentagon's claims, first reported on CNN.
What is that thing?
Is that Barney? Does Bush know he is out of the yard?
Apparently the President stayed on the Economy message in Chicago,....CNBC cut away.... Fox was off chasing other topics.
Oh, no, our cover's blown - the secret Bush conspiracy to unleash the "Dogs of War" on Iran has been exposed...
I have to agree. This cannot be tolerated. The Iranians need to be shown that there are limits to our patience, and they’re quickly approaching that limit.
Incredible. Three 24-hour news channels and we’re more poorly-informed than ever. What a disgrace.
what it called a "super-modern flying boat"
Iran boats 'threatened US ships'
Monday, 7 January 2008, 20:46 GMT
The incident happened in the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route. The US said their ships were about to open fire when the Iranian boats withdrew. The White House warned Iran against "provocative actions that could lead to a dangerous incident in the future". Iran played down the event, describing it as an "ordinary occurrence". "This... happens for the two sides every once in a while and, after the identification of the two sides, the issue is resolved," foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said. Official media also reported the US statement about Iran's allegedly threatening behaviour with scepticism, implying that Washington was exaggerating the incident. 'Serious provocation' The speedboats, believed to belong to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, came within about 200m of the US vessels, Pentagon officials said. "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes," the Iranians said in a radio transmission, according to US officials.
He said at least some of the boats were visibly armed. US sailors assumed battle stations and the captain on one of the ships was about to order an attack when the Iranian boats turned away, dropping unidentified objects in the path of the vessel, US officials said. The confrontation, which occurred at about 0400 local time on Sunday or late on Saturday in Washington, lasted about 20 minutes, according to the US. The Pentagon has insisted that the three US vessels - identified as navy cruiser USS Port Royal, destroyer USS Hopper and frigate USS Ingraham - were in international waters. The incident follows a row that erupted last March when Iranian Revolutionary Guards captured 15 British sailors and held them for nearly two weeks. Iran said the crew had strayed into Iranian waters, a claim which Britain disputed. The Revolutionary Guards, set up in 1979 to defend the country's Islamic system, has been designated by the US as a "proliferator of weapons of mass destruction". Ready to respond The latest confrontation comes as US President George Bush is to begin a tour of the Middle East on Wednesday. Long-standing US-Iranian tensions remain over Iran's nuclear programme, although these have been somewhat reduced since the US intelligence community released a report in late 2007 that said Iran had stopped its nuclear weapons programme in 2003. The BBC's Paul Reynolds says the key question is whether this is a one-off incident or whether it heralds a more aggressive stance by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. The latter policy would be unexpected, given the lowering of tension over the nuclear issue, he says, but as the incident of the captured British naval personnel showed, tensions are always high. There is no doubt that the US is ready to respond, our correspondent adds. |
“Ten months ago, the Iranians tested British resolve in the Gulf, and came away with an important propaganda victory after capturing 15 Royal Navy sailors and marines.”
I have a feeling that crap isn’t going to fly with the USN.
See post #90.... They left early.
“A couple five inch shells going over the bow might impress these warriors.”
A couple of five inch shells going THROUGH the bow would impress then a lot more.
Personally I think we should have sunk each and every one of the Iranian small craft; and, as we did in the Israeli attack on the Syrian nuclear site, refuse any comment whatsoever!!
That is what scares me. These ships are probably like flies compared to the Navy ships but all it takes is one or two to get through the curtain.
They need to end it before it starts.
Another question: If there was "an order to fire", why didn't we fire....the lag between the order and execution should be milliseconds in a "danger close" situation such as this was.
That happened to my brother. He was a chief gunners mate.
He was on a naval ship sitting on the Thames during a German air raid.( WWII) Everything black out.
He’d had enough and opened up w/ one of the ship’s gun.
Got thrown in the brig.
A big clue were the 5” guns pointed in their general direction...
Warning klaxons go off when the guns train out...The next sound you here is this big bang followed by stillness...
I cannot confirm the next events due to I do not believe anything about 72 virgins in paradise...
Trust me Meg...
They will exact a heavy toll upon the enemy...
I only wish I was there again...
Bring it Iran. You’re toast.
Ron Paul thinks they have no military, eh? LOL
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