Iranian state TV releases footage of cheering Revolutionary Guards in speedboats ‘chasing a US Navy vessel in Persian Gulf’
- Footage shows at least one US-flagged vessel with Iranian boats tailing it
- A voice in Farsi says, ‘Keep chasing them,’ as other men cheer and whistle
- US Navy claimed it was not aware of any such incident at sea in last few days
Iranian state TV has claimed its navy chased a US vessel in the Persian Gulf, with video showing Revolutionary Guards cheering as they tail the speedboat.
The footage shows at least one US-flagged vessel with around six personnel on board as two speedboats appear to be chasing it.
A voice in Farsi says, ‘Keep chasing them,’ as other men cheer and whistle in the background. The report did not say when the encounter took place.
The US Navy said it was not aware of any such incident at sea in the last few days.
The American vessel in the clip is a Riverine Command Boat, a 52ft fast military assault craft which is often deployed in the region.
The footage shows at least one US-flagged vessel with around six personnel on board as at least two speedboats appear to be chasing it. The American vessel in the clip is a Riverine Command Boat, a 52ft fast military assault craft which is often deployed in the region.
The video aired by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, IRIB, state-run TV, on Thursday shows two vessels heading off into the distance as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard tails them
Typical armaments of the Riverine include three deck-mounted .50 calibre Browning M2 machine guns and a 40mm Mk19 grenade launcher.
In 2016, ten US sailors were captured and humiliated by Iran after mistakenly steering their Riverine into Iranian waters.
It was later found that the men had deviated significantly from their course and were unaware that an island they had passed was a well-known base for the Iran Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy.
The region remains on edge over Iran’s escalating nuclear program. Talks in Vienna to revive Tehran’s now-tattered 2015 accord with world powers have stalled since June, with no date set for their resumption.
Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy´s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said he wasn’t aware of any sort of unsafe interaction with Iran in the last two days.
The report is the first such report in recent months.
In May, the Guard rejected the US Navy’s claim that fast-approaching Iranian speedboats in the Strait of Hormuz sparked a tense encounter a day after the Washington said the Revolutionary Guard sent 13 armed speedboats too close to U.S. Navy vessels in the Strait.
The United States at the time said a Coast Guard cutter fired warning shots when two of the Iranian boats came dangerously close.
Typical armaments of the Riverine include three deck-mounted .50 calibre Browning M2 machine guns and a 40mm Mk19 grenade launcher.
This frame grab from video aired by Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, IRIB, state-run TV, on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021, shows two vessels in the Persian Gulf
The 2015 nuclear deal saw Tehran drastically limit its enrichment of uranium in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.
In 2018, then-President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from the accord, raising tensions across the wider Middle East and sparking a series of attacks and incidents.
With the talks in Vienna now stalled, Iran has breached limits set by the accord and is enriching small amounts of uranium to its closest-ever levels to weapons-grade purity as its stockpile continues to grow.
Iran says its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.
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