WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy has released video Tuesday of a close encounter between an Iranian and U.S. Navy patrol boats, which prompted the patrol craft Thunderbolt to fire warning shots.
The video shows Thunderbolt firing at least 11 rounds in the direction of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard naval vessel, which the U.S. Navy claimed came within 150 yards of its vessel.
[Official: US Navy ship fires warning shots near Iranian ship]
Close encounters between the Revolutionary Guard and U.S. Navy vessels in the Arabian Gulf happen frequently, but the U.S. tends to release information about them when it deems an incident particularly threatening or unprofessional.
A defense official told Defense News’ sister publication Military Times that the Iranian ship closed Thunderbolt rapidly and that such a maneuver was out of the ordinary.
The latest incident occurred in June, when an Iranian unit shined a laser at several U.S. ships and at a U.S. Marine Corps CH-53 Super Stallion, which caused the helicopter to deploy its flares as countermeasures against a possible missile attack.
David B. Larter was the naval warfare reporter for Defense News.
