Iranian fast-attack boats have charged at U.S. ships in the Persian Gulf.
As per reports, several armed Iranian vessels from the country's Revolutionary Guard Corps
harassed two U.S. Coast Guard ships over three hours in the Persian Gulf earlier this month.
The U.S. Navy has released videos and images showing the encounter.
While the disclosure came now, the incident took place on April 2
The U.S. Navy said the action violated the international maritime rules of the road,
and “increased the risk of miscalculation and/or collision.”
As of now, there is no official commentary from Iran.
In this video Defense Updates analyzes how Iran has again harassed U.S. ships in the
Persian Gulf? Let's get started.
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The incident comes just weeks after the Biden administration and Iran had begun talks on
reviving the 2015 nuclear deal. Viewers may note that former President Donald
Trump abandoned the deal in 2018 citing Iranian non-compliance.
The unilateral American withdrawal has escalated tension between Tehran and Washington.
Acrimony intensified further when the U.S took out top Iranian military commander Gen.
Qassem Soleimani on Jan 3 2020 with a drone strike.
Though President Joe Biden has said he is willing to re-enter the nuclear deal, the
two nations still don't see eye to eye and there is uneasiness.
While some experts are of the view that Iran is trying to intimidate the U.S. so as to
force it to reenter the deal, others have pointed out that the powerful Revolutionary
Guard is trying to provoke tensions to undermine President Hassan Rouhani's diplomacy with
the West especially the U.S.
In what the U.S. Navy describes as an “unprofessional interaction” by Iran, the Revolutionary
Guard Corps boat Harth 55 class Shahid Nazeri is seen crossing at high speed in front of
the Coast Guard vessels, reportedly coming as close as 70 yards to the American ships,
which had to take evasive action to avoid it.
The U.S. Navy stated that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) boat had “repeatedly
crossed the bows of the U.S. vessels at an unnecessarily close range, requiring U.S.
ships to make defensive maneuvers to avoid the risk of a possible collision.”
The U.S. Navy says that Shahid Nazeri was accompanied by three fast attack craft (FAC)
or fast inshore attack craft (FIAC) of undisclosed types during this incident.
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) boats involved were the USCGC Wrangell (WPB-1332) and USCGC
Monomoy (WPB-1326), two Island-class patrol cutters.
According to the U.S. Navy, these boats were conducting routine maritime security patrols
in the southern Persian Gulf.
The Harth 55 crossed the bows of both Wrangell and Monomoy at a 70-yard closest point of
approach (CPA), as per the U.S. Navy statement. The Iranian boat then “closed aggressively”
on Wrangell’s bow, and the cutter maneuvered out of its path while sounding five short
warning blasts from the ship’s horn.
As per U.S Navy, apart from sounding the horn, the crews on the two USCG ships also issued
“multiple warnings” to the Iranians over open radio channels.
According to the U.S. Navy account, the Harth 55 continued its “unsafe and unprofessional”
maneuvers before eventually moving away from the cutters.
Iran has been using the natural bounds to its advantage.
The Strait of Hormuz provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open
ocean. It is one of the world's most strategically important choke points.
At its narrowest, the strait has a width of only 21 nautical miles or 39 km.
Around 33% of the world’s liquefied natural gas and almost 20% of total global oil production
passes through the strait making it one of the most important sea routes.
Because of its narrow width, mall missile boats and fast attack vessels that can maneuver
easily in these waters can be used to harass large warships as well as commercial vessels.
Iran has invested in these kinds of small vessels and has developed strategies to deploy
them effectively in the strait.
The Shahid Nazeri is a large catamaran-type vessel having a length of 55 m or 180-foot.
It is designed for high speed with a super-slender aluminum hull,
Shahid Nazeri is capable of carrying some 100 troops and has also a helipad for one
aircraft. It is armed with a 20mm cannon.
In a Sep 11, 2008 report, the Washington Institute for the Near East Policy said that in the
two decades since the Iraqi imposed war on Iran, the IRGC has excelled in naval capabilities
and is able to wage unique asymmetric warfare against larger naval forces.
In December 2019, the U.S. Navy has confirmed that "multiple" small Iranian boats ran alongside
the Nimitz class supercarrier USS Abraham Lincoln and other ships from her strike group
as she sailed through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman.
Though U.S Navy had rejected reports that any of the Iranian craft harassed or otherwise
acted provocatively toward the carrier, it is clear that asymmetric threats are a cause
of concern for the U.S vessels.
Currently, it is not known if there were any U.S. Navy warships to protection to the Wrangell and Monomoy.
Viewers may note that these vessels have their own defensive armament in the form of a Mk
38 25mm chain gun and a pair of 50-caliber machine guns.
The incidents follow a similar pattern and it remains to be seen how things pan out in
the coming days.