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However, there have been several rocket attacks on Iraqi bases housing US and allied troops since then, and Iran’s naval forces have been increasingly assertive. Pictures and video released by the US navy show multiple small boats, moving at speed and throwing up pronounced wakes behind them, performing sharp turns around the American vessels.Īfter the drone killing of the top IRGC general Qassem Suleimani in Baghdad in January, the Trump administration claimed it had “restored deterrence” against Iranian military ambitions in the region

“The IRGCN’s dangerous and provocative actions increased the risk of miscalculation and collision,” the US statement said, adding that the Iranian actions were in violation of maritime conventions and international law. The Iranian sailors only responded to bridge-to-bridge radio contacts after an hour of manoeuvring, and then moved away. “US crews issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio, five short blasts from the ships’ horns and long-range acoustic noise-maker devices, but received no response,” the Central Command statement said. “The IRGCN vessels repeatedly crossed the bows and sterns of the US vessels at extremely close range and high speeds,” a statement said, adding that the Iranian vessels performed multiple crossings of two of the US ships, coming as close as 10 yards. Coming on the same day that the US navy said that a Russian warplane performed an “unsafe” intercept of one of its surveillance planes over the Mediterranean, the incidents also served as a reminder that the coronavirus pandemic has not ended dangerous military rivalries around the world.Īccording the US Naval Forces Central Command, 11 small Iranian boats circled six US warships.