U.S. Navy destroyer fires warning shots at Iranian vessels -U.S. officials

WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots at four of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels on Sunday after they closed in at a high rate of speed in the Strait of Hormuz, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Monday.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Mahan established radio communication with the boats but they did not respond to requests to slow down. The Navy destroyer fired warning flares and a U.S. Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float. The Iranian vessels came within 900 yards (800 meters) of the Mahan, which was escorting two other U.S. ships, they said. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Mohammad Zargham) </s> (REUTERS) – A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots towards four of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels on Sunday after they closed in at a high rate of speed in the Strait of Hormuz, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Monday.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Mahan established radio communication with the boats but they did not respond to requests to slow down and instead continued asking the Mahan questions. The Navy destroyer fired warning flares and a U.S. Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float before the warning shots were fired.

The Iranian vessels came within 900 yards (800 meters) of the Mahan, which was escorting two other U.S. military ships, they said. </s> U.S. Navy destroyer fires warning shots at Iranian vessels -U.S. officials

WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots towards four of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels on Sunday after they closed in at a high rate of speed in the Strait of Hormuz, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Monday.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Mahan established radio communication with the boats but they did not respond to requests to slow down and instead continued asking the Mahan questions. The Navy destroyer fired warning flares and a U.S. Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float before the warning shots were fired.

The Iranian vessels came within 900 yards (800 meters) of the Mahan, which was escorting two other U.S. military ships, they said.

The IRGC was not immediately available for comment.

The incident comes as President-elect Donald Trump is about to take office on Jan. 20. In September, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harass the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be "shot out of the water."

One official said similar incidents occur occasionally. Most recently in August, another U.S. Navy ship fired warning shots towards an Iranian fast-attack craft that approached two U.S. ships.

The official added that the warning shots were just one of seven interactions the Mahan had with Iranian vessels over the weekend, but the others were judged to be safe. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Chizu Nomiyama) </s> A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels near the Strait of Hormuz after they closed in at high speed and disregarded repeated requests to slow down, U.S. officials said on Monday (January 09).

The incident, which occurred on Sunday and was first reported by Reuters, comes as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on Jan. 20. In September, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harassed the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be "shot out of the water."

The White House said the Iranian vessels had behaved in an unacceptable manner and that such incidents risked increasing tensions.

"At this point the United States does not know what the intentions of the Iranian vessels were, but the behavior is not acceptable given that the USS Mahan was operating in international waters," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said during a press conference on Monday.

The warning shots were fired at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats by the USS Mahan after it established radio contact but failed to get them to slow down. The Iranian vessels came within 900 yards (800 meters) of the Navy destroyer, which was escorting two other U.S. military ships.

The Mahan also fired flares and a U.S. Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float before the warning shots. </s> A U.S. Navy ship fired multiple warning shots at an Iranian vessel in the Persian gulf that came within 150 yards of the American ship, a U.S. official confirmed.

The Iranian ship, believed to belong to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, was approaching the USS Thunderbolt at a high rate of speed and ignored warnings from the U.S. ship that included voice communications and sound signals, the official said.

The incident, which occurred around 3 p.m. local time Tuesday, was deemed "unsafe and unprofessional," the official said.

The USS Thunderbolt, a Navy patrol craft, was conducting routine operations in the Gulf when the Iranian vessel approached, the official said.

While close encounters between U.S. ships and Iranian small craft in the Gulf are common, it's rare for an American ship to fire warning shots. This is also the closest that an Iranian vessel has come to a U.S. ship in the Gulf in at least a year.

In January, a U.S. Navy destroyer, the USS Mahan, fired a burst of warning shots at four Iranian small craft that were approaching a high rate of speed. Those boats got as close as 890 yards. And in August, the USS Squall fired warning shots into waters ahead of a speeding Iranian boat to warn the small craft that it had come within 200 yards of the U.S. ship.

In a more recent encounter deemed "unsafe and unprofessional," an Iranian ship targeted a laser at a U.S. helicopter as it accompanied three U.S. Navy ships through the Strait of Hormuz last month.

Following that incident, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet said, "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." The closest the Iranian vessel got to the American ships in that circumstance was 800 yards.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for updates. </s> A US Navy destroyer fired three warning shots towards four of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels on Sunday after they closed in at a high rate of speed in the Strait of Hormuz, two US defence officials told Reuters on Monday.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Mahan established radio communication with the boats but they did not respond to requests to slow down and instead continued asking the Mahan questions. The Navy destroyer fired warning flares and a US Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float before the warning shots were fired.

The Iranian vessels came within 800 meters of the Mahan, which was escorting two other US military ships, they said.

The IRGC was not immediately available for comment.

The incident comes as President-elect Donald Trump is about to take office on Jan. 20. In September, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harass the US Navy in the Gulf would be “shot out of the water.”

One official said similar incidents occur occasionally. Most recently in August, another US Navy ship fired warning shots towards an Iranian fast-attack craft that approached two US ships.

The official added that the warning shots were just one of seven interactions the Mahan had with Iranian vessels over the weekend, but the others were judged to be safe. </s> A US Navy destroyer fired three warning shots towards four of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels on Sunday after they closed in at a high rate of speed in the Strait of Hormuz, two US defense officials told Reuters on Monday.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Mahan established radio communication with the boats but they did not respond to requests to slow down and instead continued asking the Mahan questions.

The Navy destroyer fired warning flares and a US Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float before the warning shots were fired.

The Iranian vessels came within 900 yards (800 metres) of the Mahan, which was escorting two other US military ships, they said.

The IRGC was not immediately available for comment.

The incident comes as President-elect Donald Trump is about to take office on January 20. </s> A Navy ship fired multiple warning shots at an Iranian vessel in the Persian Gulf that came within 150 yards of the U.S. ship, the Navy confirmed.

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The Iranian vessel, belonging to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, approached the USS Thunderbolt at a high speed and ignored warnings from it, including voice communications and sound signals.

"The Iranian vessel did not respond to repeated attempts to establish radio communications as it approached," U.S. Naval Forces Central Command said in a statement. "Thunderbolt then fired warning flares and sounded the internationally recognized danger signal of five short blasts on the ship's whistle, but the Iranian vessel continued inbound."

It wasn't until the warning shots were fired that the Iranian craft halted its approach, the Navy said.

The Navy characterized the encounter, which occurred around 3 p.m. local time Tuesday, as "an unsafe and unprofessional interaction" and said the Iranian boat's actions did not follow internationally recognized "rules of the road ... creating a risk for collision."

The Thunderbolt, a Navy patrol craft, was conducting a coalition exercise in international waters when the Iranian vessel approached, according to the Navy.

While close encounters between U.S. ships and Iranian small craft in the Gulf are common, it's rare for a U.S. ship to fire warning shots. This is the closest that an Iranian vessel has come to a U.S. ship in the Gulf in at least a year.

In January a Navy destroyer, the USS Mahan, fired a burst of warning shots at four Iranian small craft that were approaching a high speed. Those boats got as close as 890 yards. And in August of last year, the USS Squall fired warning shots into the water in front of a speeding Iranian boat to warn the craft that it had come within 200 yards.

In a more recent encounter the Navy deemed "unsafe and unprofessional," an Iranian ship targeted a laser at a U.S. helicopter as it accompanied three Navy ships through the Strait of Hormuz last month.

After that incident, a spokesman for the Navy's 5th Fleet said, "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." The closest the Iranian vessel got to those U.S. ships was 800 yards. </s> In the latest incident of high-seas tension between the U.S. and Iran, a Navy destroyer reportedly fired a series of warning shots at four Iranian vessels on Sunday after the Islamic Republic’s boats closed in at a high rate of speed in the Strait of Hormuz.

The USS Mahan tried to tell the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard boats to stop via radio communication, but the vessels didn’t respond to the request, prompting the destroyer to fire three warning flares, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters.

The Iranian boats approached to within 900 yards of the Mahan, which had been escorting two U.S. ships, the officials told Reuters.
A U.S. Navy destroyer fires three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels after they close in at a high speed near the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. defense officials.