U.S., Iran have close call in Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A U.S. Navy warship and several Iranian rockets were within 1,500 yards of each other in the Strait of Hormuz last week, military officials said.

The aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman on Saturday was passing through the Strait of Hormuz -- a strip of water connecting the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea -- when the Iranian Revolutionary Guard launched a live-fire exercise from a short-and-fast-attack craft near the ship, U.S. Central Command spokesman Commander Kyle Raines said.

The carrier was at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in an "internationally recognized maritime traffic lane" with another U.S. warship, the USS Buckley, as well as a French frigate and some commercial ships when officials said an Iranian navy message came over maritime radio that the exercise was about to begin and vessels should steer clear of the area.

An Iranian fast-and-short-attack craft then fired off multiple unguided rockets about 1,500 yards off the starboard side and away from the group.

Officials described the incident as "uncharacteristic of most interactions" between the two navies. The Iranians were "clearly not" trying to fire on the ships, but their actions were "unnecessarily provocative and unsafe."

There were no further incidents in the strait. The carrier is now in the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Inherent Resolve.