US Navy denies Iran's claim on harassing submarine in Gulf waters

The Iranian navy said it forced a US-guided missile submarine to surface as it sailed through the Strait of Hormuz.
The USS Florida sails during "Giant Shadow," a Naval Sea Systems Command/Naval Submarine Forces exercise to test the capabilities of the Navy's future guided missile submarines Jan. 22, 2003 off the coast of the Bahamas.
The USS Florida sails during "Giant Shadow," a Naval Sea Systems Command/Naval Submarine Forces exercise to test the capabilities of the Navy's future guided missile submarines, off the coast of the Bahamas, Jan. 22, 2003. - David Nagle/US Navy/Getty Images
Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East
Al-Monitor Staff

The US Navy denied on Thursday Iran's claim that it forced a US cruise-missile submarine to surface in the Strait of Hormuz, after Washington had deployed the vessel to the region in a show of force toward Tehran earlier this month.

Rear Adm. Shahram Irani, top commander of the Iranian navy, said that the crew of its Fateh submarine detected the USS Florida stealthily approaching the Strait of Hormuz underwater and forced it to surface.

Irani claimed on state television that the Florida "entered into our territorial waters" but changed course following a warning.

The US Navy's 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, flatly denied the interaction occurred.

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