On April 15, 11 vessels from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) came dangerously close to US Navy and Coast Guard ships in international waters of the Arabian Gulf.

A statement released by the U.S. Navy criticized the move and called it “dangerous and provocative.”

The report released by the U.S. Navy mentioned that 11 Iranian vessels approached six U.S. military ships while they were conducting joint integration operations with U.S. Army helicopters in international waters of the North Arabian Gulf.

The IRGCN ships repeatedly crossed the bows and sterns of the U.S. vessels at extremely close range and high speeds, as they came within 10 metres of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Maui. The U.S. crew issued several warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio, blasts from the ships’ horns and long-range acoustic noise maker devices, but received no response from the IRGCN.

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After about one hour, the IRGCN vessels responded to the warnings and manoeuvred away from the U.S. ships.

“The IRGCN’s dangerous and provocative actions increased the risk of miscalculation and collision”

The US military mentioned in a statement. The statement further stated that the IRGCN’s actions were not in accordance with the internationally recognized Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) “rules of the road” or internationally recognized maritime customs and were not in accordance with the obligation under international law to act with due regard for the safety of other vessels in the area.

Initial assessments indicate #IRGCN vessels' closest points of approach were 50 yards from #USSLewisBPuller & 10 yards from @USCG #Maui. There were no injuries during the interaction. pic.twitter.com/AYzEXHZPZZ

— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) April 15, 2020

There is a palpable tension between Iran and the US right now, following the assassination of Qassem Soleimani, the major general in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in a drone strike in Baghdad, Iraq

To which Iran then struck back on January 8 with a rocket attack on Iraq’s Ain Al Asad base where US forces were stationed, where no immediate injuries were reported. However, some troops were later diagnosed with traumatic brain injury.

Experts have also said that Iran could be inciting tension in the Arabian Gulf as part of a campaign to distract attention from the poor handled domestic situation during the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Iran is doing this because internally they are collapsing. Economically they were already in trouble…can’t compete with the Saudi’s…then Coronavirus. They need something to take the people’s mind elsewhere. https://t.co/Sr6B34qpTC

— Adam Housley (@adamhousley) April 16, 2020

U.S. naval forces continue to remain vigilant and are trained to act in a professional manner, while their commanding officers retain the inherent right to act in self-defence

The U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, Marines and Army have been conducting joint interoperability operations in the North Arabian Gulf since late March.