The US navy was first to comment on the incident on Wednesday, saying eleven Iranian navy vessels allegedly made “dangerous and harassing approaches” to US warships.
In the Guard's telling, its forces were on a drill and faced “the unprofessional and provocative actions of the United States and their indifference to warnings,” according to the Associated Press. It said the Americans later withdrew.
No verifiable video has been released. It also accused American forces of blocking Iranian warships on April 6 and April 7 as well.
The US Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said it was approached by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) vessels while they were “conducting joint integration operations” with Apache attack helicopters in the international waters.
The Iranian vessels reportedly “repeatedly crossed the bows and sterns of the US vessels at extremely close range and high speeds,” with one going as close as ten yards to an American ship.
The US crew say they warned the encroaching vessels to disengage through bridge-to-bridge radio dispatches, as well five blasts from the horns of the ship, as well as long range acoustic noise maker devices. They received a response from the Iranians an hour later, who then began spacing themselves from the US vessels, according to the statement.
Tensions between the two countries spiked following the US drone strike in Iraq that killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani and Iran’s retaliatory fire of ballistic missiles at US bases in January.
Washington has blamed attacks launched on bases with US-troops in Iraq on Iran-aligned elements of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) military network formally integrated into Iraq’s security forces.
The United States has deployed Patriot air defense batteries to Iraqi bases to protect American troops recently targeted by Iranian missiles
The US has been heavily criticized by human rights watchdogs and activists alike for the dire effect its sanctions are said to be having on Iran’s ability to respond to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed 4,777 lives since the outbreak began.
According to Iran analyst Ariane M. Tabatabai Trump’s sanctions and the global pandemic have, “exacerbated the effects of Iran’s own incompetence and corruption, leading to significant discontent among the populace.”
A big point of contention between the two countries has been Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions in return for sanctions relief.
The global financial dominance of the US dollar has meant the deal’s European, Russian and Chinese signatories have been able to do little to alleviate pressure on Iran’s economy from Washington’s crushing sanctions.
In response, Iran has begun a gradual abandonment of its commitments to the nuclear deal - moves that Iran has argued are reversible if sanctions relief is provided.
Tehran announced in January that it would no longer comply with restrictions on nuclear enrichment, the latest move in undermining the landmark deal.
With reporting from Associated Press
