Large Group of Iranian Fast Attack Boats Harass U.S. Navy Ships in Hormuz Strait, Third Incident Since Early AprilKristina Wong 10 May 2021
A large group of Iranian military fast attack boats on Monday harassed six United States Navy ships escorting a guided missile submarine into the Strait of Hormuz, the Pentagon said.
“Earlier today a large group of Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, also known as the IRGCN, fast boats conducted unsafe and unprofessional maneuvers and failed to exercise due regard for the safety of U.S. forces as required under international law while operating in close proximity to U.S. Naval vessels that were transiting the Strait of Hormuz,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said.
He said the Navy ships that were escorting the USS Georgia were exercising the right of transit passage in accordance with customary international law in the Strait when 13 IRGCN fast attack boats approached the U.S. formation of ships at “high speed,” getting within 150 yards.
After issuing warnings to the IRGCN fast boats, including via horn blast and bridge-to-bridge radio transmissions, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Maui fired approximately 30 warning shots from her 50 caliber machine gun.
He said after a second round of warning shots, the IRGCN ships broke contact.
“There was a volley at roughly the 300 yard mark and then another volley of warning shots as they got into 150 yards,” he said.
Kirby called the IRGCN’s behavior “dangerous, unsafe, and unprofessional.”
The encounter between American and Iranian ships in the region is the third one in the span of just two months.
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