Revolutionary Guard acknowledges tense encounter with US warships but alleges American forces sparked the incident
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard acknowledged Sunday it had a tense encounter with US warships in the Persian Gulf last week, but alleged without offering evidence that American forces sparked the incident.
The incident Wednesday saw the US Navy release video of small Iranian fast boats coming close to American warships as they operated in the northern Persian Gulf near Kuwait, with US Army Apache helicopters.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement on its official website that the US Navy “has presented an incorrect and agenda-fueled narrative of this encounter, which shows the Americans’ interest in Hollywood stories.”
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It accused the US of “blocking the path” of Iranian ship Shahid Siavoshi on April 6 and 7 with “dangerous behavior while ignoring warnings.”
The IRGC in response increased maritime patrols, the statement said, and encountered American warships on April 15.
The 11 patrol boats “forced them to draw back from the path of Sepah (IRGC) vessels, despite the provocative and unprofessional actions” of US ships, which ignored warnings.
The Guard released no video or evidence to support its allegation.
Lt. Pete Pagano, a spokesman for the US Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said the Navy stood by its earlier description of the incident Wednesday.
“Regarding any other interactions with our ships, US forces continue to remain vigilant and are trained to act in a professional manner,” Pagano told The Associated Press in reference to the Guard’s claims of other recent incidents.
The incident comes amid still-heightened tensions between Iran and the US despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Armed men boarded a Hong Kong-flagged tanker ship last Tuesday off the coast of Iran, near the crucial Strait of Hormuz, holding the ship for a short time near the Iranian coast before releasing it. Though Iran has not acknowledged the incident, private security firms say the Guard was behind the seizure.
In a tweet Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif kept up his criticism of US President Donald Trump, claiming Iran soon would export ventilators despite facing one of the world’s worst outbreaks.
“All you need to do is stop interfering in the affairs of other nations; mine especially,” Zarif wrote. “And believe me, we do not take advice from ANY American politician.”
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