A US Coast Guard vessel fired in self-defense at an Iranian boat in the Persian Gulf, the Navy says.
Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, a spokesman for the US Navy’s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, says personnel on a small boat dispatched from the US Coast Guard patrol boat Monomoy fired a single shot when it saw crew on a nearby Iranian dhow training one of its two .50-caliber machine guns on them and preparing to fire.
“This action by the dhow’s crew demonstrated hostile intent which resulted in the defensive fire by the Coast Guardsmen,” he says.
Dhows are traditional wooden boats common to the region that are typically used for trade.
No Americans were wounded in the encounter, which happened in international waters around 11:30 a.m. local time Tuesday, Stephens says.
The Monomoy was operating on “a routine maritime security operation” when it contacted the dhow’s bridge. After initial contact, the Iranian vessel stopped communicating and the Coast Guard ship deployed small boat to investigate, according to Stephens.
It was not clear if the shot hit the Iranian vessel or if anyone onboard was injured. Iranian officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
— AP
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