‘Reckless’ Iranians threaten to blow up American warships in the Gulf
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The radio message received by three American warships as they entered the narrow Strait of Hormuz sent the crews to action stations for an imminent attack.
Five Iranian speedboats had been detected on the radar, approaching fast in the dim light of the early Gulf morning. As they sped towards the group they slipped suspicious boxes into the water.
However, it was the warning transmitted as they closed in that threatened to turn a potentially hostile manoeuvre into a dangerous incident that could have spiralled out of control. “I am coming at you, you will explode in a couple of minutes,” the message said.
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The confrontation between the five gunboats and the US Navy ships that took place on Sunday was described by the Pentagon as “the most serious provocation of this sort that we’ve seen yet”. The incident, which lasted about 20 minutes, was “careless, reckless and potentially hostile”, Bry-an Whitman, the Pentagon spokesman, said. He demanded an explanation from the Iranians.
The Pentagon said that the Iranian boats had turned away “at the very moment that US forces were preparing to open fire in self-defence”.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which took command of Iran’s naval operations in the Gulf last November, has proved on many occasions that it is prepared to be antagonistic towards Western warships in the crowded shipping lane, twice seizing Royal Navy craft and their crews and holding them hostage – in 2004 and again last year. In Sunday’s incident, at about 5am local time, the Iranian speedboats “swarmed” around the US warships and gave every indication of wanting to provoke the Americans into opening fire. The threat to bomb the ships was the first time that the Iranians had used such a ploy to heighten the tension, although Tehran tried to play the whole incident down by saying that it was a routine manoeuvre.
Under US rules of engagement, warships under threat are entitled to open fire in self-defence and to take preemptive action if the evidence points to an imminent attack. Why the US commanders held back after receiving the radio message was not clear. But the gamble paid off. No shots were fired and no one was hurt.
However, Sean McCormack, the US State Department spokesman, said that America would “confront Iranian behaviour where it seeks to do harm either to us or our friends or allies in the region”.
The White House said the harassment of the US ships by Iran was “provocative” and warned Tehran against taking similar action in the future. “We urge the Iranians to refrain from such provocative actions that could lead to a dangerous incident in the future,” Gordon Johndroe, the White House spokesman, said.