US destroyer alters course in another brush with Iranian vessels

U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mahan was forced to alter course in another run in with Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps fast attack craft in the Persian Gulf.

The Iranian vessel acted “unprofessional but also provocative” in the incident which took place on Monday, according to a U.S. official.

Unlike in another incident from January this year, USS Mahan did not have to fire warning shots as the Iranian vessel came no closer than 1,000 yards of the U.S. destroyer.

The officials further said Mahan had to alter course to avoid the Iranian vessel after it did not respond to bridge-to-bridge communication attempts.

In a previous incident from January 8, USS Mahan was forced to fire warning flares while a helicopter dropped a smoke float after four Iranian vessels approached the destroyer at high speed.

According to the Pentagon, there had been 35 similar incidents of unsafe or unprofessional behavior by Iranian vessels in 2016.