MANAMA, Bahrain, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Iranian high-speed military vessels intercepted a U.S. Navy destroyer near the Persian Gulf in an interaction the U.S. Navy called unsafe and unprofessional.
The guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze was in international waters near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, accompanied by the destroyer USS Macon, when four smaller ships of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard approached it at high speed and failed to respond to 12 separate radio communications, Cdr. William Urban, U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet spokesman, said. The Nitze blew a whistle in five short blasts to indicate the Iranian vessels were proceeding dangerously, and fired flares before veering off course to avoid a collision. Two of the Iranian ships came within 300 yards of the Macon before all four slowed and left the area. No shots were fired.