{"id":207578,"date":"2020-05-20T12:40:54","date_gmt":"2020-05-20T12:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=207578"},"modified":"2020-05-22T06:15:57","modified_gmt":"2020-05-22T06:15:57","slug":"u-s-navy-warns-iran-we-will-open-fire-if-you-get-too-close","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=207578","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Navy Warns Iran: We Will Open Fire if You Get Too Close"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">U.S. Navy issues warning to Iranians not to come within 100 meters of its warships or be fired upon a month after Trump made threat &#8216;to shoot down and destroy&#8217; their gunboats<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\"><strong>The U.S. Navy issued a stark warning Tuesday that all vessels are to\u00a0maintain a distance of at least 100 meters from its ships in international waters\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\"><strong>It said any vessel within this parameter\u00a0would be &#8216;interpreted as a threat and subject to lawful defensive measures&#8217;<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\"><strong>Measures could amount to\u00a0warning shots to force the other vessel away\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\"><strong>The warning targeted Iranian vessels after recent close encounters<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\"><strong>It comes a month after President Trump instructed the Navy &#8216;to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea&#8217;<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\"><strong>On Sunday, Iran complained to the United Nations over possible measures Washington could take against an Iranian fuel shipment to Venezuela<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\">Frances Mulraney \u2013 Daily Mail May 19, 2020<\/h1>\n<div id=\"attachment_148933\" style=\"width: 550px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-148933\" class=\"wp-image-148933\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/a1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"540\" height=\"361\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-148933\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Three Iranian Revolutionary Guard boats are seen near the U.S. aircraft carrier, USS George H. W. Bush while transiting Straits of Hormuz as U.S. Navy helicopter hovers over them during early hours of March 21, 2017.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The U.S. Navy issued a stark warning to Iranian vessels on Tuesday not to come within 100 meters of its warships or risk being fired upon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">It announced that vessels in the Mideast that came closer than this to an American ship would be &#8216;interpreted as a threat and subject to lawful defensive measures&#8217;.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The Navy issued the notice for the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">It comes just a month after President <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a style=\"color: #ccffff; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/donald_trump\/index.html\"><strong>Donald Trump<\/strong><\/a><\/span> instructed the Navy to fire on any Iranian ships that harass American vessels following a\u00a0close encounter in the Persian Gulf.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Defensive measures have typically included turning a ship away from the approaching vessel, sounding its horn, shooting off flares and ultimately firing warning shots to force the vessel away.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">But offering a specific distance is new for the Navy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">&#8216;Our ships are conducting routine operations in international waters wherever international law allows and do not seek conflict,&#8217; said Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, a Bahrain-based 5th Fleet spokeswoman.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">&#8216;However, our commanding officers retain the right to self-defense if deemed necessary.&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">While 100 meters may seem far, it&#8217;s incredibly close for large warships that have difficulty in turning quickly, like aircraft carriers.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The U.S. Navy on Tuesday issued a warning to mariners to stay 100 meters (yards) away from U.S. warships or risk being \u201cinterpreted as a threat and subject to lawful defensive measures.\u201d w\/<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/phildstewart?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@phildstewart<\/a>  <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tsbz26URTM\">https:\/\/t.co\/tsbz26URTM<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Idrees Ali (@idreesali114) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/idreesali114\/status\/1262840466107760641?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 19, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">It comes after the U.S. accused Iran of conducting &#8216;dangerous and harassing&#8217; maneuvers near American warships in the northern Persian Gulf in April.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Iran also had been suspected of briefly seizing a Hong Kong-flagged oil tanker just before that.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">In April, Trump warned on Twitter: &#8216;I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Trump did not cite a specific event in his tweet or provide details but it is thought to have been linked to an incident involving\u00a0the U.S. Navy&#8217;s Bahrain-based 5th Fleet.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">A group of 11 ships with Iran&#8217;s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps repeatedly crossed the bows and sterns of the fleet at close range and high speeds in April &#8211; with one passing within just 10 meters of a Coast Guard cutter.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I have instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/realDonaldTrump\/status\/1252932181447630848?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 22, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The &#8216;dangerous and provocative actions increased the risk of miscalculation and collision,&#8217; a statement from U.S. Central Command said, adding that U.S commanders on the scene &#8216;retain the inherent right to self-defense.&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The American vessels included the USS Paul Hamilton, a Navy destroyer; the USS Lewis B. Puller, a ship that serves as an afloat landing base; and the USCGC Maui. Coastguard vessels are part of U.S. forces in the Gulf.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The ships were operating with U.S. Army Apache attack helicopters in international waters, the statement said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">U.S. forces issued multiple warnings via bridge-to-bridge radio, fired five short blasts from the ships&#8217; horns and long-range acoustic noise maker devices, but received no immediate response from the Iranian vessels, officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_138539\" style=\"width: 370px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Screen-shot-of-IRGC-Navy-patrol-boat-from-a-video-taken-be-crew-memeber-of-the-USS-Nitze.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-138539\" class=\"wp-image-138539\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/Screen-shot-of-IRGC-Navy-patrol-boat-from-a-video-taken-be-crew-memeber-of-the-USS-Nitze-1024x516.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"181\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-138539\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Screen shot of IRGC Navy patrol boat from a video taken be crew memeber of the USS Nitze. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Eventually, after around an hour, the Iranian ships acknowledged the warnings over the bride-to-bridge radio and then maneuvered away.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Iranian officials did not immediately acknowledge the incident.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">After Trump&#8217;s tweet, however,\u00a0General Abolfazl Shekarchi, a spokesman for Iran&#8217;s armed forces, accused Trump of &#8216;bullying&#8217; and said the American president should focus on taking care of U.S service members infected with the coronavirus.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">His tweet came amid a re-escalation of tension, with Iran&#8217;s Revolutionary Guards saying hours earlier that that they had launched the country&#8217;s first military satellite, which the U.S. regards as a cover for missile development.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The U.S. Navy has years of experience with Iranian forces getting that close, namely the hard-line, paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Their armed speedboats routinely cut across their paths when going through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which 20 percent of all oil passes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Tensions have been high between Iran and the U.S. ever since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran&#8217;s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Last summer saw a series of escalating attacks targeting oil tankers and other sites around the Persian Gulf.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_200262\" style=\"width: 370px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/A-burning-vehicle-at-Baghdad-International-Airport-shotly-after-the-US-drone-strike.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-200262\" class=\"wp-image-200262\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/A-burning-vehicle-at-Baghdad-International-Airport-shotly-after-the-US-drone-strike-768x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/A-burning-vehicle-at-Baghdad-International-Airport-shotly-after-the-US-drone-strike-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/A-burning-vehicle-at-Baghdad-International-Airport-shotly-after-the-US-drone-strike-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/A-burning-vehicle-at-Baghdad-International-Airport-shotly-after-the-US-drone-strike-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/A-burning-vehicle-at-Baghdad-International-Airport-shotly-after-the-US-drone-strike.jpg 1216w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 360px) 100vw, 360px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-200262\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A burning vehicle at Baghdad International Airport shotly after the US drone strike that killed Qassem Soleimani. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">It reached a crescendo in January with the U.S. drone strike in Baghdad that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and an Iranian ballistic missile strike of American forces in Iraq in retaliation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Those tensions had been expected to rise after Iran&#8217;s government overcame the initial chaos that engulfed its response to the coronavirus pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">On Sunday, Iran complained to the United Nations and summoned the Swiss ambassador in Tehran, who represents U.S. interests in the Islamic Republic, over possible measures Washington could take against an Iranian fuel shipment to Venezuela.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">A senior official Trump&#8217;s administration told Reuters on Thursday the United States was considering measures it could take in response to Iran&#8217;s shipment of fuel to crisis-stricken Venezuela.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The oil sectors of Iran and Venezuela, members of OPEC, are both under U.S. sanctions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">The administration official declined to specify the measures being weighed but said options would be presented to Trump.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Iran&#8217;s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi passed on a message to the Swiss ambassador on Sunday warning against any U.S. threat against the Iranian tankers, according to a report on the foreign ministry website.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also wrote a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Iran &#8216;reserves its right to take all appropriate and necessary measures and decisive action &#8230; to secure its legitimate rights and interests against such bullying policies and unlawful practices,&#8217; Zarif wrote to Guterres.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">&#8216;This hegemonic gunboat diplomacy seriously threatens freedom of international commerce and navigation and the free flow of energy,&#8217; Zarif wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">&#8216;These efforts by the U.S. to take coercive measures to disrupt Iran&#8217;s oil sale is a dangerous escalation.&#8217;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">At least one tanker carrying fuel loaded at an Iranian port has set sail for Venezuela, according to vessel tracking data from Refinitiv Eikon on Wednesday, which could help ease an acute scarcity of gasoline in the South American country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Venezuela is in desperate need of gasoline and other refined fuel products to keep the country functioning amid an economic collapse under socialist President Nicolas Maduro.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #ccffff;\">Venezuela produces crude oil but its infrastructure has been crippled during the economic crisis.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-8337659\/U-S-Navy-issues-warning-Iranians-not-come-100-meters-warships-fired-upon.html\">Source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. Navy warns Iranians not to come within 100 meters of its warships or risk being fired on<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-207578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-Iran"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=207578"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":207584,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207578\/revisions\/207584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=207578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=207578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=207578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}