Iran denies it fired rockets near United States warships in key strait

Unguided Iranian rockets were fired from fast attack boats within 1,500 yards of the Navy’s USS Truman Carrier Strike Group as it passed through global waters in the Strait of Hormuz off the Iranian shore December 26, Navy officials confirmed to Scout Warrior.

The US on Wednesday accused Iran of launching a “highly provocative” rocket test last week near its warships and commercial traffic passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

A Pentagon official told CNN on Wednesday that a U.S. aircraft carrier came within about 1,500 yards of an Iranian rocket while operating in the Strait of Hormuz.

Some U.S. critics of the deal have said the Iran cannot be trusted to comply – however proponents of the deal say Iran’s actions can be verified and that progress seems to be on track.

Gen. Ramezan Sharif, a Revolutionary Guard spokesman, said his forces didn’t carry out any drills in the key Persian Gulf waterway.

In response to the incident, the U.S. Treasury Department is preparing to launch a new round of sanctions against firms and individuals in Iran, which would be the first wave since the U.S. and Iran signed off on the nuclear agreement on July 14. In the past, Iran has threatened to block the strait, which lies at the entrance of the Persian Gulf.

Several Revolutionary Guard vessels fired the rockets “in close proximity” of the warships and nearby merchant traffic “after providing only 23 minutes of advance notification”, said Navy Commander Kyle Raines, spokesman for the US Central Command, on Tuesday.

Diplomats have held out hope that the deal over Iran’s disputed nuclear programme could ease decades of mistrust and reduce tensions in the Middle East.

While the United States has complained previously about other Iranian war games and manoeuvres there, Saturday’s incident comes after a series of weapons tests and other moves by the Iran following the nuclear deal.

The deal reached with moderate President Hassan Rouhani’s administration has been panned by Iranian hard-liners, and in the months since, Iran has conducted missile tests criticized by the USA, as well as aired footage on state television of an underground missile base.

Hamid Reza Taraghi, an analyst close to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called the rocket launch “a minor warning”.