Centcom: Iranian boat engaged in 'unsafe and unprofessional' encounter with US warships

Situation de-escalated through non-lethal lasers and audible warnings

The USS The Sullivans and the USNS Choctaw County transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters

An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy patrol boat came within about 150 metres of two American warships in the Strait of Hormuz, but the “unsafe and unprofessional” situation was de-escalated, the US military's Central Command said on Tuesday.

In a statement, Centcom said the incident took place on Monday during a routine transit in international waters by expeditionary sea base platform ship USS Lewis B Puller and guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans.

“The Iranian vessel attempted to blind the bridge by shining a spotlight and crossed within 150 yards of the US ships — dangerously close, particularly at night,” Centcom said in a statement.

The situation was de-escalated with the help of audible warnings and the non-lethal use of lasers.

Centcom spokesman Col Joe Buccino said the “dangerous action in international waters is indicative of Iran’s destabilising activity across the Middle East”.

The USS Lewis B Puller at the weekend intercepted 50 tonnes of weaponry bound for Yemen from a fishing trawler on a key maritime smuggling route used by Tehran, US officials said.

US navy seizes deadly weapons on Iran-Yemen smuggling route — in pictures

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  A fishing vessel on a smuggling route between Iran and Yemen was found to be carrying 50 tonnes of bullets and rocket components. All photos: US Navy

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  Bags containing fuses and propellants for rockets are arranged on the flight deck of the USS Lewis B Puller, whose crew discovered the weapons on a smuggling vessel.

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  In this separate raid on another vessel on November 8, sailors from the destroyer USS The Sullivans sort the large quantity of urea fertiliser and ammonium perchlorate - used to make explosives.

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  The seizure made by personnel from the USS Lewis B Puller is the US Fifth Fleet's second major illegal weapons haul in a month.