Iranians threatened U.S. ships in Hormuz: Pentagon

[Steve Gardner]

Anyone remember former National Security Advisor Brzezinski's warning to the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations back in Febraury last year? He said:

If the United States continues to be bogged down in a protracted bloody involvement in Iraq, the final destination on this downhill track is likely to be a head-on conflict with Iran and with much of the world of Islam at large. A plausible scenario for a military collision with Iran involves Iraqi failure to meet the benchmarks; followed by accusations of Iranian responsibility for the failure; then by some provocation in Iraq or a terrorist act in the U.S. blamed on Iran; culminating in a "defensive" U.S. military action against Iran that plunges a lonely America into a spreading and deepening quagmire eventually ranging across Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.

Now read this - a breaking news story about an apparent confrontation between US naval forces and Iranian boats, which includes an alleged threat made by the Iranians that they are "coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes."

Source: Reuters

By Andrew Gray

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Iranian boats aggressively approached three U.S. Naval ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a main shipping route for Gulf oil, at the weekend and threatened that the ships would "explode," U.S. officials said on Monday.

The Pentagon termed the action, involving five Iranian boats, "careless, reckless and potentially hostile" and said Tehran should provide an explanation, but Tehran dismissed U.S. concerns, saying it was a routine contact.

Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff, the commander of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet, which is responsible for operations in the Gulf, said the Iranian boats moved aggressively toward the U.S. ships and their actions were "unduly provocative."

"The ships received a radio call that was threatening in nature, to the effect that they were closing on our ships and ... the U.S. ships would explode," Cosgriff told reporters at the Pentagon via videolink from his Bahrain headquarters.

The incident was the latest sign of tension between Washington and Tehran, at odds over a range of issues from Iran's nuclear program to U.S. allegations of Iranian support for terrorism and interference in Iraq.

U.S. President George W. Bush is due to travel to the Middle East this week on a trip he has said is partly aimed at countering Iranian influence.

Cosgriff said the U.S. Navy believed the Iranian boats belonged to the country's Revolutionary Guard and they were sometimes less than 500 yards (meters) from the U.S. ships.

In October, the United States designated the Revolutionary Guard Corps a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction and its elite Qods force a supporter of terrorism.

OIL PRICES ROSE

Oil prices briefly rose on the news about the confrontation as dealers weighed the threat to shipments along the key shipping route. Crude futures jumped 49 cents to $98.40 a barrel before slipping back.

In Tehran, the Iranian Foreign Ministry described the encounter as "ordinary" and said it had been resolved.

"This is an ordinary issue that happens for the two sides every once in a while and, after the identification of the two sides, the issue is resolved," Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini told Iran's official IRNA news agency.

An "informed source" from the naval force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards was quoted by Iranian state television as saying: "There were no out of the ordinary contacts between the Guards' naval force and American ships."

The source said three U.S. naval ships were asked by Guards' vessels "as usual" to identify themselves "which they did and they continued their path."

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the three U.S. ships had been in international waters passing through the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday when they were approached by five fast boats, at least some of which were visibly armed.

"This is a serious incident," Whitman said. "Clearly this is something that deserves an explanation."

Other Pentagon officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said after the Iranian threats a U.S. captain was in the process of ordering sailors to open fire when the Iranian boats moved away.

According to the officials, the radio transmission from one of the Iranian ships said: "I am coming at you. You will explode in a couple of minutes."

Cosgriff said the U.S. Navy was very mindful of the damage small craft could do to large ships. Al Qaeda militants killed 17 U.S. sailors when they rammed an explosives-laden boat into the side of the USS Cole, a destroyer, in Aden in 2000.

The incident took place about 0400 GMT Sunday, or late Saturday night in Washington, the officials said. Cosgriff said it was daylight with "decent visibility." The three U.S. ships were the USS Port Royal, USS Hopper and the USS Ingraham.

Last March, Iran seized 15 British sailors and marines in the Gulf and accused them of trespassing into Iranian waters. London maintained they were in Iraqi waters but the Britons were held for almost two weeks.

(Writing by Andrew Gray; Editing by David Storey)

[Steve Gardner]

...released by Pentagon

All I can say is, "Thank God for US military restraint".

Source: The Times

The Pentagon released dramatic footage last night showing how American warships were seconds away from opening fire on Iranian gunboats that swarmed around a US Navy squadron as it entered the crowded Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.

As the Iranian patrol boats closed in, a voice threatened over the radio: “I am coming to you. You will explode after two minutes.”

The four-minute video, of an incident that lasted 20 minutes, was shot from the bridge of the USS Hopper, a destroyer that was leading the cruiser USS Port Royal and the frigate USS Ingraham into the Gulf through international waters.

The Pentagon pictures suggested that the incident, dismissed by Iran as an “ordinary occurrence”, very nearly triggered a clash in one of the world’s busiest sea lanes, through which a quarter of the world’s crude oil passes.

President Bush, who set off last night on an eight-day visit to the Middle East, described the incident as a “dangerous situation”.

“They should not have done it, pure and simple,” Mr Bush said. “I don’t know what their thinking was, but I’m telling you what I think it was — I think it was a provocative act.”

In the video the Iranian speedboats, thought to belong to the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, can be seen racing across the grey waters of the Gulf ignoring horn blasts and radio warnings from the much-larger and better-armed American vessels.

One bright-blue Iranian boat, manned by a crew in orange jump suits, can be seen snaking through the wake of the American warships, apparently dropping boxes into the water.

An unidentified US sailor on the bridge of the USS Hopper can be heard trying to contact the Iranians by radio: “This is coalition warship. I am engaged in transit passage in accordance with international law. Intend no harm.” He then asks the Iranians to “identify yourself and state your intentions”.

But with the Iranian vessels still closing in, the American crewman warns the Iranians that they could come under fire. “Inbound small craft, you are approaching a coalition warship operating in international waters. Your identity is unknown, your intentions are unclear,” he says. He then warns them that they would be “subject to defensive measures” if they did not disengage.

“Request that you alter course immediately to remain clear,” the American crewman says. After a pause, a man with a heavy accent replies in English: “You will explode after two minutes.”

The American asks him to repeat the message, but the Iranian vessels, which at one point came within 200 yards of the American ships, then disengage and return to base.

Tehran has tried to play down the incident. “This happens for the two sides every once in a while and, after the identification of the two sides, the issue is resolved,” a Foreign Ministry spokesman in Tehran said.

There are suspicions that the action was linked to Mr Bush’s visit to the region, where he is expected to rally support against the regime in Iran and its militant Palestinian and Lebanese allies. Mr Bush’s tour through Kuwait, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Saudi Arabia will be seen as a provocation in Tehran.

[Steve Gardner]

Source: CNN

TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iran on Thursday released video of its naval forces interacting with U.S. coalition warships in the Persian Gulf region -- but unlike video from the Pentagon, it did not show a threatening exchange.

The shaky five-minute video aired on Iran's Press TV -- widely viewed as the mouthpiece for Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps -- and was posted on Press TV's Web site.

U.S. National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley said Sunday's incident in the Strait of Hormuz "almost involved an exchange of fire between our forces and Iranian forces." Iran maintains that it was a routine communication and accuses the United States of exaggerating the incident for political purposes.

The Iranian video is shot from a watercraft that does not appear to be moving. For the first 2½ minutes, the camera zooms in on what appears to be three U.S. coalition warships, some distance away, and a helicopter flying above the vessels.

The video occasionally stops and restarts. The audio contains crosstalk in Farsi by men who are not in the camera's view.

About halfway into the video that was released on the Web site, a bearded man in an orange safety vest and a checkered scarf appears on the camera and begins speaking over the radio to one of the U.S. warships. The silhouettes of the U.S. naval ships can been seen on the horizon, a long distance away.

The man hails the U.S. ship in English and the two vessels identify themselves.

The voice from the U.S. ship states that it is operating in international waters.

After several calm radio exchanges between the two, and at least one edit on the video, it cuts to a blue speedboat with men in orange vests on board, speeding away from the U.S. warships toward the camera.

A U.S. Navy official said the Iranian video "appears to be truthful showing three ships making a transit of the Strait of Hormuz."

But, he added, "Clearly the video is edited to include only the verbal context the Iranians wanted to include."

He says the transmissions via handheld radio by the Iranian appear to be standard "hail" messages that ships in the region send each other. But the Iranian video only shows their fastboats at idle and does not show the rest of the encounter, he said.

Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff, commander of the Bahrain-based U.S. 5th Fleet, said the U.S. ships received a "threatening" radio transmission as they traveled through the narrow Strait of Hormuz on Sunday. The transmission indicated the boats were closing in on the U.S. ships and that the U.S. ships would "explode," Cosgriff said.

No shots were fired and no one was hurt in the confrontation, which began around 8 a.m. on Sunday and lasted about 20 minutes, the Defense Department said.

The USS Port Royal, the USS Hopper and the USS Ingraham were traveling in formation after completing a routine transit through the strait, the U.S. Navy said.

Five boats, suspected to be from the Islamic Republic of Iran Revolutionary Guard Navy, "maneuvered aggressively in close proximity of the Hopper," the Navy said in a posting on its Web site.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon released a videotape shot from the bridge of the USS Hopper showing five fast boats racing back and forth near the convoy.

On the tape, an unidentified Navy crew member says over the radio: "This is coalition warship. I am engaged in transit passage in accordance with international law. I intend no harm. Over."

The boats continue to race through the water even as the U.S. warship repeatedly sounds its horns.

"I am coming to you," a deep, accented voice says in English over the radio.

An unidentified sailor aboard the Hopper asks the boats to identify themselves and steer clear.

The same deep voice says, "You will explode in a few minutes."

It was not clear, however, that the threat was coming from anyone aboard the boats, Cmdr. Lydia Robertson, the 5th Fleet spokeswoman in Bahrain, told CNN. It could have been sent from another ship in the area or from someone on shore, she said.

Iranian officials accused the Pentagon of forging the video it released and said the United States timed the release to coincide with the eve of President Bush's trip to the Middle East.

Speaking on Wednesday in Jerusalem, Bush warned of "serious consequences" if Iran decided to attack U.S. ships.

Hadley called it a provocation and warned Iran "to be on notice that they are fishing in troubled waters here."

Robertson said estimates from sailors aboard the warships of the boats' nearest proximity to the U.S. vessels range from 200 yards to 500 yards. She called the fast boats' actions "unsafe, unnecessary and unprofessional."

Although the video does not show it, at least one of the boats dropped five or six objects that looked like boxes into the water, where they floated, she said.

The U.S. naval commanders did not pick them up "because they did not know what they were," she said.

[Steve Gardner]

What a joke - and yet so damn predictable.

The idea that a shore-based third party could have participated in the exchange between the American warship and the Iranian speedboat opens up all sorts of possibilities, not just for what happened here, but also for what might happen.

Source: The Guardian

· Pentagon climbdown over 'you will explode' video
· Mystery remains over where voice came from

Ed Pilkington New York
Friday January 11, 2008
The Guardian

Doubts intensified last night over the nature of an alleged aggressive confrontation by Iranian patrol boats and American warships in the Persian Gulf on Sunday, after Pentagon officials admitted that they could not confirm that a threat to blow up the US ships had been made directly by the Iranian crews involved in the incident.

Several news sources reported that senior navy officials had conceded that the voice threatening to blow up the US warships in a matter of minutes could have come from another ship in the region, or even from shore.

The concession came on the day that a formal American complaint was lodged with Iran over the incident, and just 24 hours after President George Bush, on tour in the Middle East where he will be discussing policy towards Iran, warned Tehran to desist from such aggression and said any repetition would lead to "serious consequences".

The Pentagon alleges that the confrontation lasted about 20 minutes and took place in the Strait of Hormuz, where the US ships were in international waters. Five Iranian patrol boats swarmed around three US warships and came within a threatening 200 metres, prompting US personnel to be put on alert.

The US navy has said that its gunners came within seconds of firing on the speedboats.

On Tuesday, the US administration released video footage that it said showed the Iranian speedboats harassing the American vessels. A voice in English with a strong accent was heard to say: "I am coming at you - you will explode in a couple of minutes."

Yesterday the Iranians put out their own four-minute video that showed an Iranian patrol officer in a small boat communicating with one of the US ships. "Coalition warship number 73, this is an Iranian navy patrol boat," the Iranian said. An American naval officer replied: "This is coalition warship number 73 operating in international waters."

The voice of the Iranian sailor in Tehran's footage was different to the deeper and more menacing voice, threatening to blow up the warships in the US version. Nor was there any sign of aggressive behaviour by the Iranian patrol boats.

The Strait of Hormuz is a particularly sensitive stretch of water, both economically as a key shipping route for oil from the Gulf, and militarily. The location, together with memories of the arrest of 15 British sailors by the Iranians last year and their detention for two weeks, is likely to have heightened nerves on both sides.

But the mystery remains of where the voice that apparently threatened to bomb the US ships came from. The Pentagon has said that it recorded the film and the sound separately, and then stitched them together - a dubious piece of editing even before it became known that the source of the voice could not, with certainty, be linked to the Iranian patrol boats.

A post on the New York Times news blog yesterday from a former naval officer with experience of these waters said that the radio frequency used in the Strait of Hormuz was regularly polluted with interfering chatter, somewhat like CB radio. "My first thought was that the 'explode' comment might not have come from one of the Iranian craft, but some loser monitoring the events at a shore facility."

Despite growing doubts about what happened, the Bush administration continued to stand by claims of Iranian hostility. The defence secretary, Robert Gates, said the concern came from the "fact that there were five of these boats and that they came as close as they did to our ships and behaved in a pretty aggressive manner".

Further attention will focus on Tehran from today when Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, begins a two-day visit for talks on Iran's nuclear programme.