A+ A-

US patrol ship fires at Iranian vessel in Arabian Gulf

WASHINGTON, Aug 25 (KUNA) -- A US official said on Thursday that repeated approach by Iranian vessels to US Navy patrol crafts in the Arabian Gulf are acts that "unnecessarily escalate tensions." A US Navy patrol ship has fired three warning shots at an Iranian vessel that came within 200 yards (approx. 190 meters) of USS Squall "when it failed to leave the area after the Navy had fired flares and had a radio conversation with the Iranian crew," the CNN reported, citing the official.
The report indicated that in the same incident that took place in the northern part of the Arabian Gulf another US patrol craft and a Kuwaiti Navy ship were also harassed.
US State Department spokesperson Elizabeth Trudeau in the daily briefing Thursday said that several incidents of Iranian vessels approaching US Navy patrols were reported the past couple of days.
Trudeau reiterated that those actions "were unsafe, they were unprofessional," noting that "we don't know what the intention of the Iranian ships were." "But that behavior is unacceptable as our ships were in international waters," and that such incidents "unnecessarily escalate tensions," added. (end) yt.gb