By Idrees Ali
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - Multiple fast-attack vessels from Iran's Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps came close to a U.S. Navy ship in the Strait
of Hormuz on Saturday, forcing it to change direction, a U.S. official
told Reuters on Monday.
The
official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the boats came
within 600 yards (meters) of the USNS Invincible, a tracking ship, and
stopped. The Invincible and three ships from the British Royal Navy
accompanying it had to change course.
The
official said attempts were made to communicate over radio, but there
was no response and the interaction was "unsafe and unprofessional."
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could not immediately be reached for a comment.
Years
of mutual animosity eased when Washington lifted sanctions on Tehran
last year after a deal to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions. But serious
differences remain over Iran's ballistic missile program and conflicts
in Syria and Iraq.
While
still a presidential candidate in September, Donald Trump vowed that
any Iranian vessels that harassed the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be
"shot out of the water."
Similar
incidents happen occasionally, but the last serious one was in January
when a U.S. Navy destroyer fired three warning shots at four Iranian
fast-attack vessels near the Strait of Hormuz after they closed in at
high speed and disregarded repeated requests to slow down.
"Well
I don't know how much of a pattern it is, we actually had seen quite an
improvement in Iran's behavior until recently," Pentagon spokesman
Captain Jeff Davis told reporters.
Davis
said that dangerous interactions were a matter of concern because they
could lead to a "miscalculation or an accidental provocation."
(Reporting by Idrees Ali Additional reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by James Dalgleish and Richard Chang)
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