WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels near the Strait of Hormuz after they closed in at high speed and disregarded repeated requests to slow down, U.S. officials said on Monday.

File Photo: The guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan (DDG 72) transits the Mediterranean Sea in this August 31, 2012 handout photo. REUTERS/Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jacob D. Moore/U.S. Navy/Handout via Reuters/File Photo

The incident, which occurred on Sunday and was first reported by Reuters, comes as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on Jan. 20. In September, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harassed the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be “shot out of the water.”

“This was an unsafe and unprofessional interaction, and that is due to the fact that they were approaching at a high level of speed with weapons manned and disregarding repeated warnings,” Captain Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said in a briefing.

The warning shots were fired at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats by the USS Mahan after it established radio contact but failed to get them to slow down, Davis said, confirming earlier accounts of U.S. defense officials.

Those officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said the Iranian vessels came within 900 yards (800 meters) of the Navy destroyer, which was escorting two other U.S. military ships.

The Mahan also fired flares and a U.S. Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float before the warning shots, they said.

The IRGC and Trump transition team were not immediately available for comment.

The White House said the Iranian vessels had behaved in an unacceptable manner and that such incidents risked increasing tensions.

“At this point the United States does not know what the intentions of the Iranian vessels were, but the behavior is not acceptable given that the USS Mahan was operating in international waters,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest said during a press conference on Monday.

Years of mutual animosity eased when Washington lifted sanctions on Tehran last year after a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. But serious differences still remain over Iran’s ballistic missile program as well as conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

One of the U.S. defense officials said similar incidents occur occasionally.

Most recently in August, another U.S. Navy ship fired warning shots toward an Iranian fast-attack craft that approached two U.S. ships.

In January 2016, Iran freed 10 U.S. sailors after briefly detaining them in the Gulf.

The one official added that the warning shots fired on Sunday were just one of seven interactions the Mahan had with Iranian vessels over the weekend, but the others were judged to be safe.</s>A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels near the Strait of Hormuz after they closed in at high speed and disregarded repeated requests to slow down, U.S. officials said on Monday (January 09).

The incident, which occurred on Sunday and was first reported by Reuters, comes as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on Jan. 20. In September, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harassed the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be "shot out of the water."

The White House said the Iranian vessels had behaved in an unacceptable manner and that such incidents risked increasing tensions.

"At this point the United States does not know what the intentions of the Iranian vessels were, but the behavior is not acceptable given that the USS Mahan was operating in international waters," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said during a press conference on Monday.

The warning shots were fired at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats by the USS Mahan after it established radio contact but failed to get them to slow down. The Iranian vessels came within 900 yards (800 meters) of the Navy destroyer, which was escorting two other U.S. military ships.

The Mahan also fired flares and a U.S. Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float before the warning shots.</s>U.S. Navy destroyer fires warning shots at Iranian vessels -U.S. officials

WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots towards four of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels on Sunday after they closed in at a high rate of speed in the Strait of Hormuz, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Monday.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Mahan established radio communication with the boats but they did not respond to requests to slow down and instead continued asking the Mahan questions. The Navy destroyer fired warning flares and a U.S. Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float before the warning shots were fired.

The Iranian vessels came within 900 yards (800 meters) of the Mahan, which was escorting two other U.S. military ships, they said.

The IRGC was not immediately available for comment.

The incident comes as President-elect Donald Trump is about to take office on Jan. 20. In September, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harass the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be "shot out of the water."

One official said similar incidents occur occasionally. Most recently in August, another U.S. Navy ship fired warning shots towards an Iranian fast-attack craft that approached two U.S. ships.

The official added that the warning shots were just one of seven interactions the Mahan had with Iranian vessels over the weekend, but the others were judged to be safe. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Mohammad Zargham and Chizu Nomiyama)</s>U.S. Navy destroyer fires warning shots at Iranian vessels -U.S. officials

WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots at four of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels on Sunday after they closed in at a high rate of speed in the Strait of Hormuz, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Monday.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Mahan established radio communication with the boats but they did not respond to requests to slow down. The Navy destroyer fired warning flares and a U.S. Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float. The Iranian vessels came within 900 yards (800 meters) of the Mahan, which was escorting two other U.S. ships, they said. (Reporting by Idrees Ali; Editing by Mohammad Zargham)</s>A US Navy destroyer fired three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels after they closed in at a high rate of speed near the Strait of Hormuz, two US defense officials told Reuters on Monday.

The incident, which occurred Sunday comes as US President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office on Jan. 20. In September, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harass the US Navy in the Gulf would be “shot out of the water.”

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Mahan established radio communication with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps boats but they did not respond to requests to slow down and continued asking the Mahan questions.

The Navy destroyer fired warning flares and a US Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float before the warning shots were fired.

The Iranian vessels came within 900 yards (800 meters) of the Mahan, which was escorting two other U.S. military ships, they said.

The IRGC and Trump transition team were not immediately available for comment.

Years of mutual animosity eased when Washington lifted sanctions on Tehran last year after a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions. But serious differences still remain over Iran’s ballistic missile program as well as conflicts in Syria and Iraq.

One official said similar incidents occur occasionally.

Most recently in August, another US Navy ship fired warning shots towards an Iranian fast-attack craft that approached two US ships.

In January 2016, Iran freed 10 US sailors after briefly detaining them in the Gulf.

The official added that the warning shots fired on Sunday were just one of seven interactions the Mahan had with Iranian vessels over the weekend, but the others were judged to be safe.

Read| US acknowledges China has returned underwater drone seized in South China Sea</s>In the latest incident of high-seas tension between the U.S. and Iran, a Navy destroyer reportedly fired a series of warning shots at four Iranian vessels on Sunday after the Islamic Republic’s boats closed in at a high rate of speed in the Strait of Hormuz.

The USS Mahan tried to tell the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard boats to stop via radio communication, but the vessels didn’t respond to the request, prompting the destroyer to fire three warning flares, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters.

The Iranian boats approached to within 900 yards of the Mahan, which had been escorting two U.S. ships, the officials told Reuters.</s>A US Navy destroyer fired three warning shots towards four of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels on Sunday after they closed in at a high rate of speed in the Strait of Hormuz, two US defense officials told Reuters on Monday.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Mahan established radio communication with the boats but they did not respond to requests to slow down and instead continued asking the Mahan questions.

The Navy destroyer fired warning flares and a US Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float before the warning shots were fired.

The Iranian vessels came within 900 yards (800 metres) of the Mahan, which was escorting two other US military ships, they said.

The IRGC was not immediately available for comment.

The incident comes as President-elect Donald Trump is about to take office on January 20.</s>In the latest incident of high-seas tension between the U.S. and Iran, a Navy guided-missile destroyer fired a series of warning shots at four Iranian vessels after the Islamic Republic’s boats closed in at a high rate of speed in the Strait of Hormuz, Fox News confirmed on Monday.

The USS Mahan tried to order the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard boats to stop via bridge-to-bridge radio communication, but the vessels didn’t respond to the request, prompting the destroyer to fire three warning shots with a .50 caliber machine gun Sunday morning, a U.S. defense official said. After the shots were fired, the Iranian boats stopped the approach, Cmdr. Bill Urban, spokesman for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, told Fox News.

IRANIAN CONFRONTATIONS WITH US NAVY INCREASE IN 2016

The Iranian vessels sailed within 890 yards of the Mahan, which had been escorting two U.S. Navy warships. Those two ships were the USS Makin Island, a large deck amphibious assault ship with 1,000 U.S. Marines, dozens of helicopters and Marine Harrier jets aboard, and a U.S. Navy oiler.

In addition to the machine gun warning shots, a Navy helicopter dropped a smoke float. The only communication between the Iranian vessels and the U.S. warships was one Iranian boat asking for the “hull number” of the U.S. Navy vessels.

In recent days Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has conducted an annual exercise in the strait simulating maneuvers necessary to shut down the entrance to the Persian Gulf via “swarm” tactics — deploying a large number of small armed vessels. The simulations are “ongoing,” a U.S. defense official tells Fox News.

Sunday’s incident was only the most recent Iranian provocation of U.S. ships or aircraft in the region. Among the notable incidents:

– In late November, an Iranian small boat in the Strait of Hormuz trained a machine gun on a U.S. Navy helicopter.

– U.S. warships have been targeted by rebels in Yemen who are being supplied and supported by Iran.

– In September, Iran threatened to shoot down Navy aircraft it said was encroaching on its airspace.

– In early September, seven Iranian boats harassed a U.S. Navy ship in the Persian Gulf.

The U.S. military noted Iran harassed U.S. Navy warships through “unprofessional” interactions at least 35 times in 2016, a jump of more than 50 percent from the previous year, a U.S. official told Fox News.

In September, Present-elect Donald Trump said any Iranian vessels that harassed U.S. Navy warships would be “shot out of the water.”

Fox News recently flew out to the USS George H. W. Bush to see her final work ups in the Atlantic before deploying. The commanding officer of the ship said Iran’s behavior in the past year amounted to “school yard antics.”

There are currently no U.S. aircraft carriers deployed in the Middle East after the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower returned to Norfolk and the USS George H. W. Bush had its deployment delayed.

There is, however, a U.S. Navy amphibious assault ship with helicopters, jets and more than 1,000 marines in the region.</s>A US Navy destroyer fired three warning shots towards four of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels on Sunday after they closed in at a high rate of speed in the Strait of Hormuz, two US defence officials told Reuters on Monday.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Mahan established radio communication with the boats but they did not respond to requests to slow down and instead continued asking the Mahan questions. The Navy destroyer fired warning flares and a US Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float before the warning shots were fired.

The Iranian vessels came within 800 meters of the Mahan, which was escorting two other US military ships, they said.

The IRGC was not immediately available for comment.

The incident comes as President-elect Donald Trump is about to take office on Jan. 20. In September, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessels that harass the US Navy in the Gulf would be “shot out of the water.”

One official said similar incidents occur occasionally. Most recently in August, another US Navy ship fired warning shots towards an Iranian fast-attack craft that approached two US ships.

The official added that the warning shots were just one of seven interactions the Mahan had with Iranian vessels over the weekend, but the others were judged to be safe.</s>(REUTERS) – A U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots towards four of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels on Sunday after they closed in at a high rate of speed in the Strait of Hormuz, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Monday.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USS Mahan established radio communication with the boats but they did not respond to requests to slow down and instead continued asking the Mahan questions. The Navy destroyer fired warning flares and a U.S. Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float before the warning shots were fired.

The Iranian vessels came within 900 yards (800 meters) of the Mahan, which was escorting two other U.S. military ships, they said.
A U.S. Navy destroyer fires three warning shots at four Iranian fast-attack vessels after they close in at a high speed near the Strait of Hormuz, according to U.S. defense officials.