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Updated May 11th, 2021 at 12:03 IST

US coast guard ship fires 30 warning shots in close encounter with Iranian vessels

A US coast guard ship fired about 30 warning shots as a group of 13 Iranian fast boats sped towards US navy vessels in the Persian Gulf's Strait of Hormuz.

Reported by: Bhavya Sukheja
US
IMAGE: TWITTER | Image:self
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A US coast guard ship on May 10 fired about 30 warning shots as a group of 13 Iranian fast boats sped towards US navy vessels in the Persian Gulf's Strait of Hormuz. According to The Guardian, the Pentagon said that the US coast guards fired two volleys of warning shots because of the “unsafe and unprofessional” manoeuvres by the naval arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGCN). While briefing about the incident, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said that the Iranian vessels manoeuvred at high speed toward six Navy ships that were escorting the guided-missile submarine USS Georgia through the Strait after which the warning shots were fired. 

“They were acting very aggressively,” Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon. He said that they got within 150 years of the US ships, which included the guided-missile cruiser USS Monterey. Kirby added that after the Coast Guard cutter Maui unleashed a second volley of warning shots, the Iranian boats backed off. 

‘Sadly harassment not a new phenomenon'

Further, the Pentagon spokesperson informed that the Maui fired two rounds of warning from its .50-caliber machine gun. The first round was when the Iranian boats got within 300 years of the US ships and the second when they got within 150 yards. He added that after the second round of warning shots the 13 fast attack craft from the IRGC-N broke contact, ending the encounter. 

Monday’s incident reportedly marked the second time within the last month that US military vessels have had to fire warning shots because of what they said was unsafe behaviour by Iranian vessels in the region. Back in April, a US military ship had fired warning shots after three vessels from the IRGCN came close to it and another American patrol boat in the Gulf. During the press briefing, Kirby even noted that the “sadly harassment by the IRGCN is not a new phenomenon”. 

He said, “It’s unsafe, it’s unprofessional. It’s the kind of activity that can lead to somebody getting hurt, and can lead to a real miscalculation there in the region. That doesn’t serve anybody’s interests”. 


(Image: Twitter)

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Published May 11th, 2021 at 12:03 IST

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