Chitchat Iran kicked US Navy Ass at Gulf Ang Moh Commander KPKB!

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U.S. Navy Commanders Say Iranian Navy Endangering Freedom of Navigation in Gulf

March 22, 2017 by Reuters
March 18, 2017 The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) participates in a passing exercise with the Royal Danish navy frigate HDMS Peter Willemoes (F362) and the French Marine Nationale anti-air frigate FS Forbin (D620). The George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group is deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations designed to reassure allies and partners, and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Daniel Gaither/Released)
The USS George H.W. Bush participates in a passing exercise, March 18, 2017, while deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations and preserve freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region. U.S. Navy Photo

ReutersBy Sami Aboudi

ABOARD THE USS GEORGE H.W. BUSH, March 22 (Reuters) – U.S. Navy commanders accused Iran of jeopardizing international navigation by “harassing” warships passing through the Strait of Hormuz and said future incidents could result in miscalculation and lead to an armed clash.

They spoke after the U.S. aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush confronted what one of the commanding officers described as two sets of Iranian Navy fast-attack boats that had approached a U.S.-led, five-vessel flotilla as it entered the Strait on Tuesday on a journey from the Indian Ocean into the Gulf.

It was the first time a U.S. carrier entered the narrow waterway, where up to 30 percent of global oil exports pass annually, since President Donald Trump took office in January pledging a tougher U.S. stance towards Iran.

U.S. commanders said Tuesday’s incident, in which the George H.W. Bush sent helicopter gunships to hover over the Iranian speedboats as some came as close as 950 yards (870 meters) away from the aircraft carrier, ended without a shot being fired.

But it underscored growing tension between the United States and Iran since the election of Trump, who has condemned the 2015 nuclear deal that his predecessor Barack Obama and leaders of five other world powers struck with Tehran and labeled the Islamic Republic “the number one terrorist state.”

The encounter with Iranian Navy boats occurred as the USS George H.W. Bush was en route to the northern part of the Gulf to participate in U.S.-led air strikes against Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria.

“What I don’t like about that is they (Iranian boats) were in the middle of international transit waters (while) we had a right to be there as we were exercising freedom of navigation on our way into the Arabian Gulf,” Rear Admiral Kenneth Whitesell, commander of the Carrier Strike Group 2, told journalists aboard the aircraft carrier.

“They also had weapons uncovered as some of the cameras were able to tell. They had some of the weapons manned. We also have aerial data that they were arming all of these weapons.”
TERRITORIAL WATERS OR NOT?

Whitesell said Iran’s position was that the U.S.-led flotilla, which included a Danish frigate and a French destroyer, had breached its territorial waters, which he denied.

There was no immediate comment from Tehran.

In another incident, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said a U.S. Navy ship changed course towards Iranian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on March 4 and accused Washington of “unprofessional actions…(that) can have irreversible consequences.”

A U.S. official told Reuters on March 6 that multiple fast-attack vessels from the Revolutionary Guards had come within 600 yards (550 meters) of the USNS Invincible, a tracking ship, forcing it to change direction.

Years of mutual animosity eased when Washington lifted sanctions on Tehran last year after the deal to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. But strong differences remain over Iran’s ballistic missile program and conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

Captain Will Pennington, commanding officer of the George H.W. Bush, told Reuters that the behavior of the Iranian navy had become “more aggressive and less predictable.”

He added, “(They have) every right to come out and see who we are and query what our intentions are…It is the method with which they do that which is unprofessional and adds greater risk to miscalculation in our need to maneuver the ship, and often presents a risk to the merchant traffic that’s around us.”

Pennington accused the Iranian Navy of threatening one of the helicopters that flew over the Iranian boats as they approached the flotilla, sometimes at high speed.

“I would say that approaching at a high rate of speed while loading your weapon and while essentially threatening a helicopter that is part of our group while we are behaving completely in line with international law…, I wouldn’t call it a grave threat, that would be an overstatement, but it is certainly unprofessional behavior,” he said.

The last serious naval incident was in January when a U.S. destroyer fired three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels near the Strait after they closed in at high speed and disregarded repeated requests to slow down.

While still a presidential candidate in September, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harassed the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be “shot out of the water.” (Reporting by Sami Aboudi; editing by Mark Heinrich)



http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/227158


Iran 'harassing' American warships in Strait of Hormuz

U.S. Navy commanders say Iran is jeopardizing international navigation by 'harassing' warships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Contact Editor
Elad Benari, 23/03/17 06:29

Strait of Hormuz
Strait of Hormuz
Thinkstock

U.S. Navy commanders on Wednesday accused Iran of jeopardizing international navigation by "harassing" warships passing through the Strait of Hormuz, warning future incidents could result in miscalculation and lead to an armed clash, Reuters reported.

The commanders spoke after the U.S. aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush confronted what one of the officers described as two sets of Iranian Navy fast-attack boats that had approached a U.S.-led, five-vessel flotilla as it entered the Strait on Tuesday.

It was the first time a U.S. carrier entered the narrow waterway, where up to 30 percent of global oil exports pass annually, since President Donald Trump took office in January.

Tuesday's incident, in which the George H.W. Bush sent helicopter gunships to hover over the Iranian speedboats, ended without a shot being fired, the officials told Reuters.

The incident follows recent tensions in the Gulf between the United States and Iran.

In January, a U.S. Navy ship fired warning shots at Iranian boats near the Strait of Hormuz, after five Iranian vessels approached the USS Mahan and two other American ships that were entering the strait.

In September, the Navy said that Iran had threatened two American maritime patrol aircraft flying over the Strait of Hormuz.

A week prior to that incident, a U.S. Navy patrol ship was forced to change course after a fast attack craft from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps came within 91 meters of it in the central Persian Gulf.

Earlier this month, Iranian military vessels had a close encounter with a U.S. surveillance ship in the Strait of Hormuz. The incident was described by American officials as an “unsafe” and “unprofessional” maneuver by the Iranians.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards accused the United States of provoking tensions which led to the incident.

The latest encounter with Iranian Navy boats occurred as the USS George H.W. Bush was en route to the northern part of the Gulf to participate in U.S.-led air strikes against the Islamic State (ISIS) in Iraq and Syria.

"What I don't like about that is they (Iranian boats) were in the middle of international transit waters (while) we had a right to be there as we were exercising freedom of navigation on our way into the Arabian Gulf," Rear Admiral Kenneth Whitesell, commander of the Carrier Strike Group 2, was quoted by Reuters as having told journalists.

"They also had weapons uncovered as some of the cameras were able to tell. They had some of the weapons manned. We also have aerial data that they were arming all of these weapons," he added.

There was no immediate comment from Tehran.


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