US Ship Fires Warning Shots at Iranian Boats

Iranian boats for the second consecutive day harassed US Navy ships in the Arabian Gulf on Wednesday, prompting a US Navy ship to fire warning shots into the water. On Wednesday, the USS Squall fired shots into the water as Iranian boats came within 200 yards of the patrol coastal ship after repeated warnings. Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said the crew of the ship determined the Iranian vessels were coming at them in an “unsafe and unprofessional manner.” They were forced to fire warning shots to “de-escalate” the situation, said Cook. The incident came the day after the destroyer USS Nitze was harassed by Iranian boats in the Arabian Gulf. The US ships were in international waters and the sailors “were conducting themselves professionally as they are trained to do. We did not see the same from the other side,” Cook said. Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan said Thursday that Iran will continue to confront US vessels if they are in “Iran’s maritime region,” Reuters reported.