Iran’s IRGC reports 2nd US naval provocation in Persian in less than a week

Rasa - Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has reported a second provocation by US warships in the Persian Gulf waters less than a week after a similar incident in the same region.

News ID: 431307

Date: 29 July 2017 - 22:27

RNA - "At 4 p.m. local time (1130 GMT) on Friday, the supercarrier USS Nimitz and its accompanying warship, while being monitored by the IRGC Nay’s missile frigates, flew a helicopter near the Resalat oil and gas platform and approached the IRGC’s ships," IRGC Navy said in a statement on Saturday.

“The US made a provocative and unprofessional move by warning the Iranian vessels through firing flares,” but the Iranian forces continued with their mission “in disregard of the unconventional and unusual behavior of American vessels” that later left the region, the statement read.

It came a few days after a similar incident in the northern Persian Gulf, where a US Navy ship sailed toward an IRGC Navy ship, which was patrolling in international waters, and fired two shots into the air.

The IRGC said in a statement following Tuesday's incident that it had neutralized the US Navy move, which was made “with the aim of provocation and intimidation.”

Iranian naval forces are tasked with guaranteeing security within the country’s maritime borders, where they have been involved in a series of face-offs with US vessels for intrusion into Iranian territorial waters.

Iran has repeatedly warned that any act of transgression into Iran’s territorial waters would be met with an immediate and befitting response.

In recent years, Iran’s Navy has increased its presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers. It has also conducted major drills to enhance its defense capabilities.

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