Dubai, United Arab Emirates – A US Navy ship fired warning shots at an Iranian Revolutionary Guard speedboat during a tense conflict in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, officials said Tuesday.
Monday’s event involving guards and marines came as tensions remained high as Iran’s nuclear deal, broken by shaky talks with world powers, and Tehran enriching uranium closer than ever to weapons levels under reduced international surveillance.
Meanwhile, the UN nuclear control body said Iran now plans to enrich uranium through a second set of advanced centrifuges, despite controversies at the Fordo underground facility.
The Navy said the cyclone-class patrol boat USS Sirocco and the USNS Choctaw County Spearhead-class reconnaissance vehicle were in close engagement with three Iranian speedboats as they crossed the Strait of Hormuz as they entered the Persian Gulf.
A video released by the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet shows the Bogamar high-speed guard heading towards Scirocco. The syrup blows the trumpets over and over to the black man, who bends over when he’s closed. He hears a shot but is not seen as the Bohemian passes over Scirocco under the Iranian flag.
The Navy said Boghammar was located 50 yards (45 meters) from Sirocco, increasing the risk of the ships colliding with each other. The Navy said the full engagement lasted about an hour.
“The actions of the guards did not conform to international standards of professional or safe navigation, which increased the risk of miscalculations and collisions,” the Navy said.
Iran did not immediately recognize the crash at the strategic field: one-fifth of its commercial oil passes through the Bosphorus.
The Navy also told the Associated Press that this was the second alleged “unsafe and unprofessional” incident with Iran in recent months.
The Navy said on March 4 that three Guard ships had been in tense engagement with US Navy and Coast Guard ships for more than two hours as they exited the Persian Gulf via the Strait. The Navy said guard Shahid Nazer’s catamaran came within 25 yards (22 meters) of USCGC Robert Goldman during the incident.
“Two US Coast Guard cutters sent multiple radio alarms from deck to deck and opened warning fire,” the Navy said.
The Navy did not specify why it did not explain the previous incident, mainly because the larger ship approached the American ship. But the Vienna agreement on the resumption of the nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers seemed possible before the end of the talks.
In 2015, Iran and states around the world agreed on a nuclear deal under which Tehran would severely limit its uranium enrichment in exchange for lifting economic sanctions. In 2018, then US President Donald Trump unilaterally told the US to withdraw from the deal. The growing tension in the Middle East has led to a series of attacks and incidents.
On Tuesday, the IAEA said its investigators confirmed that Iran is preparing to enrich uranium through a new cascade of 166 advanced IR-6 centrifuges at its underground Ford facility. Iran has an IR-6 operating in Fordo, near the Shia holy city of Qom, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) southwest of Tehran. They enrich up to 20% purity.
The IAEA said it has yet to say at what level Iran’s second level of enrichment will occur. Iran has not yet publicly recognized the new waterfall.
The 2015 nuclear deal banned any enrichment for Ford. Protected by the mountains, the structure is surrounded by anti-aircraft guns and other fortifications. The size of a football field, it’s big enough for 3,000 centrifuges, yet small and fortified enough to suspect U.S. officials have a military purpose when the site opened to the public in 2009.
On Tuesday, state-run IRNA news agency reported that a prosecutor in southeastern Iran and Balochistan province said three people were arrested there in April on suspicion of collaborating with the news agency. Israeli intelligence Mossad who wanted to kill Iranian nuclear scientists.
It is not clear why all three would be Sistan and Baluchistan, which have no nuclear facilities. The province, which borders Afghanistan and Pakistan, is subject to occasional attacks by armed rebel groups.
Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat contributed to this report in Tehran, Iran.
Follow John Gamber on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.
Source: Washington Post
John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.
