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. 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 U.S. Navy helicopter also dropped a smoke float before the warning shots were fired. 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. 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.
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.