Iran’s IRGC navy harassed US ships in Strait of Hormuz, US says
An IRGC patrol boat harassed two US Navy ships just days after one of them was involved in the seizure of 50 tons of smuggled ammunition bound for Yemen.
A patrol boat belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) took “unsafe and unprofessional” action by crossing into the path of two US Navy ships as they transited the Strait of Hormuz after dark on Monday night, the US military said on Tuesday.
The IRGC Navy patrol boat “attempted to blind the bridge by shining a spotlight and crossed within 150 yards of the US ships — dangerously close, particularly at night,” US Central Command said in a statement.
The close encounter involved the guided missile destroyer USS The Sullivans and the sea base platform ship, USS Lewis B. Puller.
The US ships “safely de-escalated the situation through the employment of audible warnings and non-lethal lasers,” CENTCOM said. “US Navy ships continued their transit without further incident.
