Well, perhaps they should have alerted the Cornwallis that they were going to push their boats thru the encircling Iranian water craft ... with weapons loaded and cocked. The moment the Iranians opened fire, hose the Iranians ... with the Cornwallis nearby with supporting fire the Iranians would have paid a heavy price. There would have been British casualties but not the embarrassing hostage mess they have today. It will take a long while before the British Navy, particularly the Royal Marines, live down this debacle.
I’m guessing that the HMS Cornwall didn’t put one across the bow of the Iranians because “Topsy” Turney had recently given birth to a baby girl and Political Correctness strikes again.
The Brits had a helo up from the HMS Cornwall, but after determining that the Indian freighter was friendly the helo returned to the ship, leaving the boarding party completely exposed in the event of an attack. One thing has yet to be explained. The HMS Cornwall is said to have tracked the boarding party using GPS. The question is were they in radio contact with them, and did the sailors and marines request assistance?
I can not imagine US naval forces not responding to the same type of situation with deadly force to repel the attack. After all our standing rules of engagement include an inherent right to self defense. Am I wrong about that?