The US 5th Fleet, currently deployed in the Persian Gulf, has reported multiple confrontations with Iranian forces in recent years.
Iranian naval fast boats buzzed around the US amphibious assault ship USS Essex in the southern Persian Gulf soon after General Joseph Votel, head of US Central Command, boarded the ship, the Associated Press reported.
Even though it is unlikely that Iran‘s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were in the know that the US top commander in the Middle East was on board, they might have gotten a hint or two watching a pair of his V-22 Osprey helicopters landing on the Essex as a demonstration flight by one of the ship’s F-35 vertical take-off and landing fighters.
The Iranian armed small boats came within about 300 yards of the Essex, apparently interested in the F-35’s maneuvers.
General Votel later told reporters traveling with him to the Essex that the IRGC is trying to keep an eye on what the US is doing in the region.
The IRGC boats routinely shadow US warships in the region, taking photos and collecting information. They have previously also launched drones to fly over and observe US ships.
According to Navy Captain Jerry Olin, commodore of Amphibious Squadron One, which includes the Essex and two other ships with her in the Gulf, the Iranian boats acted safely and professionally. He added that when the small boats come in “relatively close” and take photographs of the ships, their crews use loudspeakers…
