Petulant children, USA aircraft carrier made ‘provocative’ manoeuvres in Gulf after Iran detained US sailors

US aircraft carrier made ‘provocative’ maneuvers in Gulf after Iran detained US sailors – Tehran

Iran said a US aircraft carrier “acted provocatively and unprofessionally” after its Revolutionary Guards seized two US boats that strayed into Islamic Republic’s territorial waters.

The USS Harry S. Truman, which is currently deployed in the Persian Gulf, has been conducting improper maneuvers in the wake of the detention of the boats, a top Iranian naval commander claimed.

Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi, the chief of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ Navy, talked about the incident with the American boats in a live interview on state TV.

Fadavi dismissed reports that the ten American troops detained by the IRGC would soon be released as “speculation.” He said they would be questioned and warned that Iran would “act properly” if it concludes that the boats entered Iranian waters on an espionage mission rather than by accident.

He confirmed that US Secretary of State John Kerry had talked with his Iranian counterpart, Javad Zarif. Zarif demanded a formal apology for the breach of Iranian sovereignty, Fadavi said.

Two US boats armed with machine guns were detained about a mile into Iranian territorial waters, reportedly after one of them suffered a mechanical failure.

Last month, the US condemned Iran for conducting tests of a ballistic missile system in the Strait of Hormuz, saying the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier and the USS Bulkeley destroyer were in proximity.

The incident comes at a crucial moment for the nuclear deal between Tehran and six leading world powers, as Iranian nuclear scientists are about to disable the Arak heavy water reactor, paving the way for the lifting of economic sanctions on the Iranian oil industry.

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