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removed unsourced statement, also, WTF - recently declassified documents DID NOT show the Gulf of Tonkin Incident didn't happen |
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On [[January 6]], [[2008]], five Iranian patrol boats crewed by the [[Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution|Revolutionary Guard]] approached three U.S. Navy warships in the [[Strait of Hormuz]]: the [[Ticonderoga class cruiser|cruiser]] [[USS Port Royal (CG-73)|USS ''Port Royal'']], the [[Arleigh Burke class destroyer|destroyer]] [[USS Hopper (DDG-70)|USS ''Hopper'']] and the [[Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate|frigate]] [[USS Ingraham (FFG-61)|USS ''Ingraham'']]. U.S. officials said the Iranians "harassed and provoked" their naval vessels,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jan07/0,4670,USNavyIran,00.html |title=Pentagon Says Ships Harassed by Iran |publisher=FOX News |date=[[January 7]] [[2008]] |author=Pauline Jelinek}}</ref> coming within 200 yards of one warship. In a compilation of video and audio released by the Pentagon of the most provocative moments of the encounter, the radio officer of the USS Hopper is seen and heard attempting to make radio contact with the Iranian vessels. A few moments later another voice radioed the USS Hopper saying, "I am coming at you. You will explode [in or after] [''static''] minutes."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/01/07/iran.us.navy/ |title=Iranian ships 'harass' U.S. Navy, officials say |publisher=CNN |date=January 7 2008 |author=Barbara Starr}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Did a Radio Prank Escalate Iran-U.S. Confrontation?| publisher=NPR| date=January 14 2008| author=Ivan Watson |url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18086931&sourceCode=RSS}}</ref> This most threatening message could not be tied to the Iranian patrol boats, and may have come from another vessel or the shore a few miles away. Early U.S. reports indicated that because of the Iranian boats continued to circle the U.S. warships and had been seen to drop several packages into the water, the U.S. ships had no choice but to take the threats seriously and maintain a defensive posture. The U.S. ships were preparing to fire warning shots when the Iranians retreated. Several sources have claimed that the U.S. ships were only moments away from firing when the small crafts moved away, but this has not been confirmed. |
On [[January 6]], [[2008]], five Iranian patrol boats crewed by the [[Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution|Revolutionary Guard]] approached three U.S. Navy warships in the [[Strait of Hormuz]]: the [[Ticonderoga class cruiser|cruiser]] [[USS Port Royal (CG-73)|USS ''Port Royal'']], the [[Arleigh Burke class destroyer|destroyer]] [[USS Hopper (DDG-70)|USS ''Hopper'']] and the [[Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate|frigate]] [[USS Ingraham (FFG-61)|USS ''Ingraham'']]. U.S. officials said the Iranians "harassed and provoked" their naval vessels,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Jan07/0,4670,USNavyIran,00.html |title=Pentagon Says Ships Harassed by Iran |publisher=FOX News |date=[[January 7]] [[2008]] |author=Pauline Jelinek}}</ref> coming within 200 yards of one warship. In a compilation of video and audio released by the Pentagon of the most provocative moments of the encounter, the radio officer of the USS Hopper is seen and heard attempting to make radio contact with the Iranian vessels. A few moments later another voice radioed the USS Hopper saying, "I am coming at you. You will explode [in or after] [''static''] minutes."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/01/07/iran.us.navy/ |title=Iranian ships 'harass' U.S. Navy, officials say |publisher=CNN |date=January 7 2008 |author=Barbara Starr}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Did a Radio Prank Escalate Iran-U.S. Confrontation?| publisher=NPR| date=January 14 2008| author=Ivan Watson |url=http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18086931&sourceCode=RSS}}</ref> This most threatening message could not be tied to the Iranian patrol boats, and may have come from another vessel or the shore a few miles away. Early U.S. reports indicated that because of the Iranian boats continued to circle the U.S. warships and had been seen to drop several packages into the water, the U.S. ships had no choice but to take the threats seriously and maintain a defensive posture. The U.S. ships were preparing to fire warning shots when the Iranians retreated. Several sources have claimed that the U.S. ships were only moments away from firing when the small crafts moved away, but this has not been confirmed. |
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After the Department of Defense made a statement that the Iranian vessels acted aggressively towards the U.S. warships Iranian officials initially denied that anything out of the ordinary had taken place. In response, on January 8, 2008 the Department of Defense released [http://www.defenselink.mil/dodcmsshare/briefingslide/320/080107-D-6570C-001.wmv a four-minute video] segment of the audio and video recordings of the incident that included the radio threat.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/briefingslide.aspx?briefingslideid=320 |title=Three U.S. Navy Ships Approached by Iranian Boats (video 080107-D-6570C-001) |publisher=U.S. Department of Defense |date=January 7, 2008}}</ref> Iran spokespersons accused the United States of fabricating the video from file footage and a source from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was quoted by Iranian television stating that the audio used was |
After the Department of Defense made a statement that the Iranian vessels acted aggressively towards the U.S. warships Iranian officials initially denied that anything out of the ordinary had taken place. In response, on January 8, 2008 the Department of Defense released [http://www.defenselink.mil/dodcmsshare/briefingslide/320/080107-D-6570C-001.wmv a four-minute video] segment of the audio and video recordings of the incident that included the radio threat.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.defenselink.mil/news/briefingslide.aspx?briefingslideid=320 |title=Three U.S. Navy Ships Approached by Iranian Boats (video 080107-D-6570C-001) |publisher=U.S. Department of Defense |date=January 7, 2008}}</ref> Iran spokespersons accused the United States of fabricating the video from file footage and a source from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was quoted by Iranian television stating that the audio used was dubbed over the video.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7178878.stm |title=Iran says US video was fabricated |publisher=BBC News |date=January 8 2008}}</ref> On [[10 January]], 2008, Iran released its own video of the incident, where no threats can be heard.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSDAH041277 |title=Iran releases own video of U.S. Gulf incident |publisher=Reuters |date=January 10 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.presstv.com/detail.aspx?id=38190§ionid=351020101 |title= Iran releases footage of PG naval check (video) |publisher=PressTV.com |date=January 10 2008}}</ref> |
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The other radio communications between the coalition ships and the Iranians do not match those in the American video, suggesting that the Iranian video is from a different point in the encounter than the U.S. video. This was confirmed when the U.S. released the full 36 minute video of the incident. |
The other radio communications between the coalition ships and the Iranians do not match those in the American video, suggesting that the Iranian video is from a different point in the encounter than the U.S. video. This was confirmed when the U.S. released the full 36 minute video of the incident. |
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Persian-speakers and Iranians have told [[The Washington Post]] that the accent in the American recording does not sound Iranian. Iran has accused the U.S. of creating a "media fuss" and has released its own abridged video recording of the incident, which does not reveal any threats. <ref>Washington Post, January 11, 2008, "Iranian Boats May Not Have Made Radio Threat, Pentagon Says," http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/10/AR2008011000692_2.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2008011001831</ref><ref>Inter Press Serice, January 10, 2008, "Official Version of Naval Incident Starts to Unravel," http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40747 archived at - http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/01/11/6314/</ref> |
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Although the Pentagon spokesman described the Iranian boats as “highly maneuverable patrol craft” that were “visibly armed,” he failed to note that these |
Although the Pentagon spokesman described the Iranian boats as “highly maneuverable patrol craft” that were “visibly armed,” he failed to note that these small boats usuall only carry a two- or three-man crew and that they are normally armed only with machine guns that could do only substantial damage to a U.S. ship with their conventional weapons. However, small boats such as these were used in the bombing of the [[USS Cole]] which resulted in massive damage and loss of personnel, therefore it is impossible to assess the true threat these ships present. The only boat that was close enough to be visible to the U.S. ships was unarmed, as an enlarged photo of the boat from the navy video clearly shows<ref>Inter Press Serice, January 10, 2008, "Official Version of Naval Incident Starts to Unravel," http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40747 archived at http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/01/11/6314/ </ref> |
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There has been significant confusion as to the source of the threatening radio transmissions. According to the Navy Times, the incident could have been caused by a locally famous heckler known as the "[[Filipino monkey|Filipino Monkey]]". Evidence for this includes that the threatening voice sounds different from that of the Iranian officer.<ref>http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/01/navy_hormuz_iran_radio_080111/</ref><ref>[http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411366/1544810 Prankster linked to US-Iran incident] </ref> <ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18086931&ft=1&f=1004 Did a Radio Prank Escalate Iran-U.S. Confrontation?]</ref>. |
There has been significant confusion as to the source of the threatening radio transmissions. According to the Navy Times, the incident could have been caused by a locally famous heckler known as the "[[Filipino monkey|Filipino Monkey]]". Evidence for this includes that the threatening voice sounds different from that of the Iranian officer.<ref>http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/01/navy_hormuz_iran_radio_080111/</ref><ref>[http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/411366/1544810 Prankster linked to US-Iran incident] </ref> <ref>[http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18086931&ft=1&f=1004 Did a Radio Prank Escalate Iran-U.S. Confrontation?]</ref>. |
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⚫ | On [[January 12]], [[2008]], it became apparent that, contrary to previous reports, the packages the Iranian boats had dropped into the water posed no threat to the U.S. vessels. The leading U.S. vessels observed that they were harmless light floating objects and did not report them to following U.S. vessels as a danger. No definite reason has yet been found to explain this Iranian action, speculation favors the possibility that the Iranian boats were pretending to lay sea mines. <ref name=wp-20080112>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103730.html|title=Objects From Iranian Boats Posed No Threat, Navy Says||author=Robin Wright and Ann Scott Tyson|publisher=[[Washington Post]]|date=January 12, 2008|accessdate=2008-01-13}}</ref> |
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⚫ | On [[January 12]], [[2008]], it became apparent that, contrary to previous reports, the packages the Iranian boats had dropped into the water posed no threat to the U.S. vessels. The leading U.S. vessels observed that they were harmless light floating objects and did not report them to following U.S. vessels as a danger.<ref name=wp-20080112>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/11/AR2008011103730.html|title=Objects From Iranian Boats Posed No Threat, Navy Says||author=Robin Wright and Ann Scott Tyson|publisher=[[Washington Post]]|date=January 12, 2008|accessdate=2008-01-13}}</ref> |
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On [[January 12]], [[2008]], two earlier incidents during [[December]] [[2007]] were revealed by U.S. Navy officials, one in which the [[USS Whidbey Island (LSD-41)|USS Whidbey Island]] fired [[warning shot|warning shots]] in response to a small Iranian boat which was approaching it on [[December 19]]. The Iranian boat reportedly then retreated after the shots were fired.<ref name=wp-20080112 /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8U3TFRG0&show_article=1|title=US Navy Says It Fired Warning Shots|author=Sebastian Abbot|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|date=January 12, 2008|accessdate=2008-01-13}}</ref> |
On [[January 12]], [[2008]], two earlier incidents during [[December]] [[2007]] were revealed by U.S. Navy officials, one in which the [[USS Whidbey Island (LSD-41)|USS Whidbey Island]] fired [[warning shot|warning shots]] in response to a small Iranian boat which was approaching it on [[December 19]]. The Iranian boat reportedly then retreated after the shots were fired.<ref name=wp-20080112 /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8U3TFRG0&show_article=1|title=US Navy Says It Fired Warning Shots|author=Sebastian Abbot|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|date=January 12, 2008|accessdate=2008-01-13}}</ref> |
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These inconsistencies have given rise to comparisons with the [[Gulf_of_Tonkin_Incident|Gulf of Tonkin Incident]] during the [[Vietnam_War|Vietnam War]] which was used by [[Lyndon_B._Johnson|Lyndon Johnson]] to provide a [[casus belli]] for escalating the conflict. Declassified files subsequently revealed that |
These inconsistencies have given rise to comparisons with the [[Gulf_of_Tonkin_Incident|Gulf of Tonkin Incident]] during the [[Vietnam_War|Vietnam War]] which was used by [[Lyndon_B._Johnson|Lyndon Johnson]] to provide a [[casus belli]] for escalating the conflict. Declassified files subsequently revealed that there was only one, not two, attacks by the North Vietnamese Navy. [http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/johann_hari/article3336121.ece] |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
Revision as of 19:04, 15 January 2008
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ae/Strait_of_hormuz_full.jpg/320px-Strait_of_hormuz_full.jpg)
The 2007-2008 US-Iranian naval dispute refers to a series of naval stand-offs between Iranian speedboats and U.S. Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz in December 2007 and January 2008.[1]
To traverse the Strait of Hormuz, which at its narrowest is 21 nautical miles wide, ships pass through the territorial waters of Iran and Oman under the transit passage provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.[2] The U.S. has not ratified the convention.[3] Ships transiting the Strait follow a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) in two two-mile-wide traffic lanes.
The presence of U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz has been a sensitive issue for Iran since the July 3, 1988 shoot down by the U.S. Navy of an Iranian commercial flight in Iranian airspace over the Strait that killed 290 civilians, an incident for which the U.S. has never apologized.[4]
Incidents
On January 6, 2008, five Iranian patrol boats crewed by the Revolutionary Guard approached three U.S. Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz: the cruiser USS Port Royal, the destroyer USS Hopper and the frigate USS Ingraham. U.S. officials said the Iranians "harassed and provoked" their naval vessels,[5] coming within 200 yards of one warship. In a compilation of video and audio released by the Pentagon of the most provocative moments of the encounter, the radio officer of the USS Hopper is seen and heard attempting to make radio contact with the Iranian vessels. A few moments later another voice radioed the USS Hopper saying, "I am coming at you. You will explode [in or after] [static] minutes."[6][7] This most threatening message could not be tied to the Iranian patrol boats, and may have come from another vessel or the shore a few miles away. Early U.S. reports indicated that because of the Iranian boats continued to circle the U.S. warships and had been seen to drop several packages into the water, the U.S. ships had no choice but to take the threats seriously and maintain a defensive posture. The U.S. ships were preparing to fire warning shots when the Iranians retreated. Several sources have claimed that the U.S. ships were only moments away from firing when the small crafts moved away, but this has not been confirmed.
After the Department of Defense made a statement that the Iranian vessels acted aggressively towards the U.S. warships Iranian officials initially denied that anything out of the ordinary had taken place. In response, on January 8, 2008 the Department of Defense released a four-minute video segment of the audio and video recordings of the incident that included the radio threat.[8] Iran spokespersons accused the United States of fabricating the video from file footage and a source from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard was quoted by Iranian television stating that the audio used was dubbed over the video.[9] On 10 January, 2008, Iran released its own video of the incident, where no threats can be heard.[10][11] The other radio communications between the coalition ships and the Iranians do not match those in the American video, suggesting that the Iranian video is from a different point in the encounter than the U.S. video. This was confirmed when the U.S. released the full 36 minute video of the incident.
Persian-speakers and Iranians have told The Washington Post that the accent in the American recording does not sound Iranian. Iran has accused the U.S. of creating a "media fuss" and has released its own abridged video recording of the incident, which does not reveal any threats. [12][13]
Although the Pentagon spokesman described the Iranian boats as “highly maneuverable patrol craft” that were “visibly armed,” he failed to note that these small boats usuall only carry a two- or three-man crew and that they are normally armed only with machine guns that could do only substantial damage to a U.S. ship with their conventional weapons. However, small boats such as these were used in the bombing of the USS Cole which resulted in massive damage and loss of personnel, therefore it is impossible to assess the true threat these ships present. The only boat that was close enough to be visible to the U.S. ships was unarmed, as an enlarged photo of the boat from the navy video clearly shows[14]
There has been significant confusion as to the source of the threatening radio transmissions. According to the Navy Times, the incident could have been caused by a locally famous heckler known as the "Filipino Monkey". Evidence for this includes that the threatening voice sounds different from that of the Iranian officer.[15][16] [17].
On January 12, 2008, it became apparent that, contrary to previous reports, the packages the Iranian boats had dropped into the water posed no threat to the U.S. vessels. The leading U.S. vessels observed that they were harmless light floating objects and did not report them to following U.S. vessels as a danger. No definite reason has yet been found to explain this Iranian action, speculation favors the possibility that the Iranian boats were pretending to lay sea mines. [18]
On January 12, 2008, two earlier incidents during December 2007 were revealed by U.S. Navy officials, one in which the USS Whidbey Island fired warning shots in response to a small Iranian boat which was approaching it on December 19. The Iranian boat reportedly then retreated after the shots were fired.[18][19]
These inconsistencies have given rise to comparisons with the Gulf of Tonkin Incident during the Vietnam War which was used by Lyndon Johnson to provide a casus belli for escalating the conflict. Declassified files subsequently revealed that there was only one, not two, attacks by the North Vietnamese Navy. [2]
See also
- United States-Iran relations
- 2007 Iranian seizure of Royal Navy personnel
- Millennium Challenge 2002
- Filipino Monkey
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ "The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (A historical perspective)". Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea. UN.
- ^ "Chronological lists of ratifications of, accessions and successions to the Convention and the related Agreements as at 26 October 2007". Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea. UN.
- ^ Washington Post, January 11, 2008, "Iranian Boats May Not Have Made Radio Threat, Pentagon Says," http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/10/AR2008011000692_2.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2008011001831
- ^ Pauline Jelinek (January 7 2008). "Pentagon Says Ships Harassed by Iran". FOX News.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Barbara Starr (January 7 2008). "Iranian ships 'harass' U.S. Navy, officials say". CNN.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Ivan Watson (January 14 2008). "Did a Radio Prank Escalate Iran-U.S. Confrontation?". NPR.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Three U.S. Navy Ships Approached by Iranian Boats (video 080107-D-6570C-001)". U.S. Department of Defense. January 7, 2008.
- ^ "Iran says US video was fabricated". BBC News. January 8 2008.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Iran releases own video of U.S. Gulf incident". Reuters. January 10 2008.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ "Iran releases footage of PG naval check (video)". PressTV.com. January 10 2008.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|date=
(help) - ^ Washington Post, January 11, 2008, "Iranian Boats May Not Have Made Radio Threat, Pentagon Says," http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/10/AR2008011000692_2.html?hpid=topnews&sid=ST2008011001831
- ^ Inter Press Serice, January 10, 2008, "Official Version of Naval Incident Starts to Unravel," http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40747 archived at - http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/01/11/6314/
- ^ Inter Press Serice, January 10, 2008, "Official Version of Naval Incident Starts to Unravel," http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=40747 archived at http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/01/11/6314/
- ^ http://www.navytimes.com/news/2008/01/navy_hormuz_iran_radio_080111/
- ^ Prankster linked to US-Iran incident
- ^ Did a Radio Prank Escalate Iran-U.S. Confrontation?
- ^ a b Robin Wright and Ann Scott Tyson (January 12, 2008). "Objects From Iranian Boats Posed No Threat, Navy Says". Washington Post. Retrieved 2008-01-13.
{{cite news}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=
(help) - ^ Sebastian Abbot (January 12, 2008). "US Navy Says It Fired Warning Shots". Associated Press. Retrieved 2008-01-13.