Iran denies it fired rockets near U.S

Iran has denied that its Revolutionary Guards launched rockets near a US aircraft-carrier and other warships as they were entering the Persian Gulf on December 26.

Though the rockets were not fired toward any warship their proximity to the foreign vessels – and several commercial ships – was “highly provocative”, said the official, who was not authorised to be named.

The U.S military on Monday slammed Iran’s firing of rockets that landed just 1,500 yards off a us aircraft carrier in the Straits of Hormuz, denouncing the action as “highly provocative”.

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that provides passage for almost a third of all oil traded by sea.

United States officials told NBC News that the Truman was being escorted through the strait by a U.S. destroyer. Ships traversing the chokepoint have even less room to maneuver. The shipping lane in either direction is only 2 miles wide, with a 2-mile buffer zone between them.

In a series of messages from his personal account he said “in response to new United States #sanctions planned against Iran s ballistic missile program” he had “ordered the Defense Minister to expedite the program”. Iran denied that rocket test Thursday, claiming that the reports were false.

This video includes images from Getty Images, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command / Fifth Fleet / CC BY 2.0. It conducts anti-piracy patrols in the greater Gulf and serves as a regional counterbalance to Iran. Most famously and tragically, in 1988, the USS Vincennes thought it was under attack and ended up firing on an airliner heading to Dubai, killing all 290 people onboard.

Both the USA and Iran insist the missile program is not part of a landmark agreement Tehran reached with world powers in July that is to lift worldwide sanctions in exchange for Iran curbing its nuclear program.

Also this month, after a 12-year investigation of Iran’s suspected nuclear plans, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chose to close the process in light of the nuclear deal.

The Strait of Hormuz is an area that’s no stranger to tense events like this. “So, security of the Persian Gulf region should be provided by the countries of this region itself”, the Leader said at the time.

“Theater is a good word for it”, Gholz said.