An Iranian missile boat pointed a laser at a U.S. Marine helicopter while two Navy warships and a cargo ship were transiting out of the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, a senior American defense official said, according to Fox News.
The laser triggered a response and the U.S. helicopter automatically fired off flares toward the offending vessel.
The Iranian vessel came within 800 yards of the U.S. warships.
Cdr. Bill Urban in a statement called the interaction "unsafe and unprofessional."
"Illuminating helicopters with lasers at night is dangerous as it creates a navigational hazard that can impair vision and can be disorienting to pilots using night vision goggles," Urban was quoted as having said.
The incident is the latest in a series of provocations from Iran. In March, the U.S. aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush confronted two sets of Iranian Navy fast-attack boats that had approached a U.S.-led, five-vessel flotilla as it entered the Strait.
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