Iran and U.S. Navy Play Chicken in Persian Gulf
The carrier group sent to the Persian Gulf to intimidate and irritate Iran apparently struck a nerve. The U.S. Navy says that five suspected Iranian ships came within “close proximity” of one of a group of three American vessels. The ships turned around and no shots were fired, according to a Navy official and news reports.
Iranian officials have yet to confirm or deny the incident, which happened over the weekend.
On Monday night, unrelated to the incident involving the ships, two $57-million Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets crashed in the gulf.
Los Angeles Times:
A U.S. Navy official in Bahrain today confirmed the broad outlines of a weekend confrontation between U.S. and Iranian warships in the Persian Gulf.
Citing unnamed military officials in Washington, CNN, NBC and other news outlets reported today that one of five Iranian ships came within 200 yards of a group of three U.S. naval vessels Saturday night in international waters within the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage through which much of the gulf’s oil reaches the world.
CNN:
Two U.S. Navy F/A-18 Super Hornets — flying off the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman — crashed Monday night in the Persian Gulf, U.S. Navy officials said.
The aircrafts’ three aviators were recovered safely after they ejected from the jets — a single-seat F/A-18E and two-seat F/A-18F.