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US, Iran on Hormuz incident
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Source: CCTV.com | 01-14-2008 09:14
Special Report: U.S.-Iran Hormuz confrontationUS naval commanders are saying they took appropriate action during an alleged incident involving Iranian patrol boats in the Hormuz strait last week.
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| US Navy commander Jeff James said the Iranian patrol boats deliberately swarmed his vessel at high speed. (CCTV.com) |
But Iran denies the US ships were threatened. And an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman has accused Washington of trying to spread anti-Iranian sentiment in the Middle East.
US Naval commanders commented on the January 6th incident at the headquarters for the US Fifth Fleet in Manama, Bahrain.
US Navy commander Jeff James said the Iranian patrol boats deliberately swarmed his vessel at high speed. He defended the Navy's disciplined response.
Jeff James, Commander of the USS Hopper, said, "During this entire time we were going through our pre-planned responses and our measured, very disciplined responses trying to warn them off before we had to take any lethal action. And fortunately for everybody involved, they turned outbound before we got to the point where we needed to open fire."
An Iranian foreign ministry spokesman reiterated on Sunday that nothing unusual happened and Iran's policies in the region will not be affected.
He accused US President George W. Bush's administration of trying to stir up trouble in the Gulf.
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| Mohammad Ali Hosseini, Spokesman of Iranian Foreign Minister. (CCTV.com) |
Mohammad Ali Hosseini, Spokesman of Iranian Foreign Minister, said, "By applying political hyperbole and propaganda, Americans tried to contribute to Mr. Bush's objectives during his trip to the region, objectives like isolation of Iran, Iran-phobia or threatening Iran but they faced indifference and disregard from the region's countries and their authorities".
The incident has heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington.
The US insists the Iranian boats threatened its three vessel convoy.
But Iran says the incident was a normal occurrence in the Gulf waters.
Editor:Zhang Pengfei
