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The USS Lewis B. Puller, an expeditionary sea base platform ship, is one of two ships that US Central Command has accused Iran of harassment in the Strait of Hormuz. Photo was taken by Staff Sergeant.Dylan Murakami/U.S. Air Force
December 7 (United Press International) — The United States has accused Iran of harassing its naval vessels as they passed through the Strait of Hormuz earlier this week, following a recent increase in attempts by U.S. warships to intercept Tehran’s arms smuggling by sea into Yemen.
Tuesday statement Elite Iranian Navy patrol boat from U.S. Central Command says Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps It “interacted in an unsafe and unprofessional manner” on Monday night when it attempted to blind U.S. ships passing through key international trade routes.
U.S. military officials identified the ships as the expeditionary sea base platform ship USS Lewis B. Puller and the USS Sullivan, the missile destroyer.
Two U.S. ships were making a routine crossing in international waters when Iranian ships approached and shone spotlights trying to blind U.S. bridges. It also passed within 150 yards of two U.S. ships in what Central Command said was a “dangerous approach, especially at night.”
It said U.S. ships were de-escalating the situation by using audible warnings and non-lethal lasers.
“This dangerous operation in international waters demonstrates Iran’s destabilizing activities throughout the Middle East,” said Col. Joe Buccino, a spokesman for Central Command.
Central Command said Iran’s actions violated international standards for professional and safe maritime conduct and increased the risk of miscalculation that could lead to a collision.
The incident comes amid tensions between Washington and Tehran as the presidential administration joe biden Continue to press Iran for its continued crackdown on anti-government protests.
It has also been ramping up its financial abuses against Iran, trying to bring its sanctions back to the negotiating table for a new deal aimed at preventing Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
This interaction also took place a few days after the USS Lewis B. Puller to intercept A trawler in the area attempted to smuggle more than 50 tons of rocket ammunition, fuzes and propellants from Iran into Yemen.
The U.S. Fifth Fleet said it delivered a total of 1 million rounds of 7.62mm ammunition, 25,000 rounds of 12.7mm ammunition, nearly 7,000 rocket fuses and more than 2,100 kilograms of propellant.
Last month, the U.S. Fifth Fleet also stopped A fishing vessel that attempted to smuggle more than 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate, a strong oxidizing agent commonly used to make rocket and missile fuel, as well as explosives. U.S. military officials again say deadly aid is being smuggled from Iran into Yemen.
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