U.S Registers Complaint Against Iran Over Naval Confrontation
January 10, 2008 by pulkit
The cold war was fraught with accounts and tales of possibly catastrophic standoffs between the U.S and the Soviet Union - mostly serendipitious fighter jet encounters. The cold war might be over but a tense situation arose in the Strait of Hormuz this weekend when three U.S warships and five Iranian speedboats found themselves in uneasy proximity. What followed was an attemp to set contact and repulse any confrontation.
A video released by the Pentagon shows that these speedboats came within 2 miles of the U.S warships and were lurking in the area at high speeds. A navy personnel can be heard asking the boats to reveal their identity or change course during the radio communication. He asked for their purpose. After numerous such requests, a heavily accented voice can be heard. The voice from the other side intelligibly warns that the U.S warships were going to be blown in a bit. The encounter happened in international waters.
This belligerence could have led the U.S warships to retort with force, as a defensive manoeuvre. So if the radio-guy on the speed boat found his warning signals funny then that speaks volumes about the fools that run Iran. This could have led to a military confronation, if President Bush’s remarks are to be believed. He stated that had the speed boats attacked then it could have led to a dangerous incident.The U.S has lodged a diplomatic complaint against the Iranians.
”We have in fact now prepared and given to the Swiss a diplomatic note formally protesting this incident,” State Department Deputy Spokesman Tom Casey told reporters. [source]
