Navy says commercial ship was ‘harassed’ in Strait of Hormuz by Iran Revolutionary Guard boats

The Navy says a commercial ship was “harassed” in the Strait of Hormuz by Iran Revolutionary Guard boats.

The U.S. Navy said that its forces, along with the United Kingdom Royal Navy, responded to a distress call from a merchant ship in the Strait of Hormuz, which is located between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Three fast-attack Guard vessels with armed troops approached the merchant ship Sunday at about 5 p.m., the Navy statement said.

“The situation deescalated approximately an hour later when the merchant vessel confirmed the fast-attack craft departed the scene. The merchant ship continued transiting the Strait of Hormuz without further incident,” the Navy said in a statement.

It added that the guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul and U.K. Royal Navy frigate HMS Lancaster responded to the call. The Lancaster launched a helicopter to survey the situation while the U.S. 5th Fleet directed a maritime patrol aircraft to observe the situation.

“U.S. 5th Fleet remains vigilant and is bolstering defense around the key strait with partners to enhance regional maritime security and stability,” the Navy added.

The press release also included a black-and-white photo of the situation from the patrol aircraft showing one large commercial boat next to three smaller ships.

Guard Rear Adm. Abbas Gholamshahi was quoted in Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency claiming that his ships were just responding to a distress call from the commercial ship. However, the Navy said the distress call initially came from reports from the civilian crew on the ship saying that there was armed personnel on board.

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