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Iran fires rockets close to US aircraft carrier; Navy complains that it was “unsafe” and “unprofessional”

Dec 30, 2015 7:19 pm By Robert Spencer

“Unsafe” and “unprofessional.” Yes, so was the German invasion of Poland. “Firing weapons so close to passing coalition ships and commercial traffic within an internationally recognized maritime traffic lane is unsafe, unprofessional, and inconsistent with international maritime law,” Navy Commander Kevin Stephens said, once again scolding Iran like a schoolmarm, which only makes the Iranian mullahs laugh and increases their contempt for the United States and confidence that it can be defeated and destroyed, as they have so often said would soon come to pass.

USS Harry S Truman

“Iran Unnerves U.S. by Firing Rockets Close to Carrier,” by Mark Thompson, Time, December 30, 2015:

It’s part of a decades-old pattern of Iranian provocations.

Nothing grabs the attention of the American military like a member of the “axis of evil” firing rockets close to a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, the biggest stick in the Pentagon’s massive arsenal.

That’s just what Iran did Saturday, shooting several unguided rockets about 1,500 yards from the USS Harry S. Truman and a pair of smaller U.S. and French warships in the Strait of Hormuz. That’s the bottleneck between the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea through which 17 million barrels of oil, 20% of world demand, flows daily.

“Firing weapons so close to passing coalition ships and commercial traffic within an internationally recognized maritime traffic lane is unsafe, unprofessional, and inconsistent with international maritime law,” Navy Commander Kevin Stephens said Wednesday from U.S. 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. It marked the third time since October 2014 that an Iranian vessel had launched rockets “within visual range” of a U.S. aircraft carrier, he said, adding that the most recent launches were “much closer” than the earlier ones. The Pentagon would only say that “several” rockets were fired; it didn’t specify a number.

It’s part of a decades-old pattern of Iranian provocations. U.S. officials said the rockets were not aimed at the ships, which were headed into the Persian Gulf. They were fired basically parallel to the vessels’ path of travel, 23 minutes after Iran warned they would be launched.

Usually, as in this case, such provocative acts are carried out by Iranian Revolutionary Guard units, sort of the wild card of the Iranian government. The Revolutionary Guard “is generally loyal to Iran’s political hardliners and is clearly more politically influential than is Iran’s regular military,” according to a May report prepared for the U.S. Congress. Its “political influence has grown sharply as the regime has relied on it to suppress dissent.”

The trouble with any such act is that mistakes by either side could quickly turn violent. Such rockets might corkscrew out of control, threatening nearby ships, or U.S. intelligence could mistakenly conclude U.S. vessels were under attack. Both sides are familiar with that latter scenario: the USS Vincennes, erroneously thinking it was under attack, destroyed an Iranian airliner over the strait in 1988, killing all 290 aboard. That came on the heels of skirmishes that led the U.S. Navy to sink six Iranian vessels and the disabling of the USS Samuel B. Roberts by an Iranian mine….

Fathoming Tehran’s motives is always challenging. Iran has bridled under economic sanctions imposed by the U.S. and other nations due to its nuclear ambitions, although both sides struck a deal in October to delay them. Iran has always viewed the Strait of Hormuz as part of its neighborhood. It likes to flex its muscles there every once in awhile, U.S. Navy officials say….

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Filed Under: Featured, Iran, Jihadist intimidation and thuggery, United States Tagged With: USS Harry S. Truman


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Comments

  1. cs says

    Dec 30, 2015 at 7:30 pm

    Now I am starting to miss Ronald Reagan, sorry to say that.
    Putin would teach them a lesson that they would ever forget.
    But with Obama, it is likely the USA will apologize.

    • mortimer says

      Dec 31, 2015 at 1:47 am

      The Iranians were terrified of Ronald Reagan, but Reagan was a passionate proponent of FREEDOM, unlike Trump.

      Reagan lectured the Soviet leaders about freedom every time he met them.

      • GuntherL says

        Dec 31, 2015 at 4:23 am

        Reagan was a vicious war criminal, unless you think Nicaragua, El Salvador, Guatemala and Grenada were a major threat to the US and had to be destroyed.
        The US should stop these provocations at once. Haven’t they screwed up enough? Iraq, Syria and Lybia… all destroyed by these idiots in Washington.
        You can identify a country by its allies and Turkey and Saudi-Arabia are nothing to be proud of.

        Iran is a 100% that they do not want take any more crap from the US. It is not a coincidence that Iraq, Iran, Syria and Jordan want to ally with Russia and China instead of the terrorist-in-chief.

        • cjk says

          Dec 31, 2015 at 11:33 am

          No, Reagan was a patriot who had the security of the USA in mind. You sound extremely envious of the USA.
          Are you an American? I hope not.

      • cjk says

        Dec 31, 2015 at 11:34 am

        LOL! Irrational hatred of Trump. You’re a chump.

    • DFD says

      Dec 31, 2015 at 12:33 pm

      Obama will apologize to the Iranians? No way! Your commander in chief will pay compensation for the lost rockets.

      And you think we Europeans are nuts…

      Happy new year
      DFD

  2. Champ says

    Dec 30, 2015 at 7:44 pm

    “Firing weapons so close to passing coalition ships and commercial traffic within an internationally recognized maritime traffic lane is unsafe, unprofessional, and inconsistent with international maritime law,” Navy Commander Kevin Stephens said Wednesday from U.S.

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    Kevin Stephens expected better from Iran? Shocka! Not …

    Great, I feel so much safer with a cream puff ‘Commander’ at the helm.

  3. Voytek Gagalka says

    Dec 30, 2015 at 9:57 pm

    “Unsafe”? “Unprofessional”? Oh, and probably Navy brass complained that it was “too noisy” and made them scared, forcing them to hide under their beds and crying for MAMA!

    • Leo says

      Dec 31, 2015 at 8:36 am

      More like crying for Bama!!!

  4. mortimer says

    Dec 30, 2015 at 11:45 pm

    More sanctions.

  5. Baucent says

    Dec 31, 2015 at 1:16 am

    You can thank unhawkish Navy leaders like Kirby for the projection of American weakness worldwide. Dictators and totalitarian states draw strength from Americas timidity. An appropriate counter response would have been to fire a shell across the bow of the Iranian vessel.

    • mortimer says

      Dec 31, 2015 at 1:44 am

      Bullies are only emboldened by perceived weakness. Jihadists are pathological bullies.

  6. mortimer says

    Dec 31, 2015 at 1:50 am

    A shipping canal cut through the Musandam Peninsula (which juts into the Strait of Hormuz) will stop the Iranians from getting at most ships. They will have to stay to their own side.

  7. salim says

    Dec 31, 2015 at 5:47 am

    I believe the best thing to do about Iran is to ignore them. The Mullah’s are obsessed with appearing anti American and anti Israeli for domestic consumption, which a common attitude in Middle Eastern politics. Even under the Mullahs, Iran is relatively ‘safe’. However, the US should do something more assertive towards such provocation.

    Hatred to America and Israel is deeply rooted in the Arabs’ hearts and minds (including some Christians, like some of those in Jordan), but not the Iranians and not the Kurds.

    • GuntherL says

      Dec 31, 2015 at 9:39 am

      Provocation? The US has invaded one neighboring country (Afghanistan), destroyed another and imposed economic sanctions on Iran with justification.
      Now why do you think the Iranians dislike the US?

      • GuntherL says

        Dec 31, 2015 at 9:40 am

        …without justification…

        • cjk says

          Dec 31, 2015 at 1:01 pm

          My friend had a cat named ‘Gunter’, is was a chickenshit. Probably not nearly as envious as you though.

      • cjk says

        Dec 31, 2015 at 11:49 am

        So envious of your superiors. You sound pathetic. LOL!

        • GuntherL says

          Dec 31, 2015 at 12:24 pm

          Envious of a country that commits warcrimes and destabilizes an entire region? No.
          Anyway, it’s obvious that you’re unable to address real arguments.

        • cjk says

          Dec 31, 2015 at 12:53 pm

          LOL! Ha, such envy!!! What lesser nation do you belong to or are you embarrassed to say?

        • GuntherL says

          Dec 31, 2015 at 1:16 pm

          A nation with a better educational system than yours, which isn’t really that difficult.

        • Joseph says

          Dec 31, 2015 at 5:04 pm

          @ GuntherL Envious of a country that commits warcrimes and destabilizes an entire region? No.

          A nation with a better educational system than yours,
          ______________________

          You didn’t go to school much did you.

          Look at all the terrorist attacks before 9/11
          https://factreal.wordpress.com/2012/09/11/list-islamic-terror-attacks-against-usa-before-911/
          AND THAT IS JUST AGAINST THE USA!!!!

        • GuntherL says

          Dec 31, 2015 at 5:30 pm

          a list of crimes which pales in comparison to US crimes against Iran, Iraq and Syria. You can find those as well. The questions that remain: who has given the US the right to attack sovereign nations in that region and impose economic sanctions for trying to acquire a weapon that only one nation has ever used against another… Guess which one.

        • cjk says

          Dec 31, 2015 at 5:08 pm

          I guess you are embarrassed of your second class nation. LOL!
          Come Gunts, you can tell us what lessor people you belong to.
          We’ll try not to ridicule and laugh at you losers. LOL!

        • Joseph says

          Dec 31, 2015 at 5:58 pm

          @ GuntherL
          and impose economic sanctions for trying to acquire a weapon that only one nation has ever used against another…

          And that weapon was used to END a war because the Japanese would NOT surrender even though they KNEW the war was lost. We had already lost enough men without invading the Japanese homeland.
          Also nukes do NOT belong in the hands of lunatic nations that love death more than life.
          _____________________________________
          a list of crimes which pales in comparison to US crimes against Iran, Iraq and Syria

          What crimes? I gave you a link with a list of attacks. These crimes are the only ones the public knows about. There are many more that the DOD does not want the public to know about.
          OH I KNOW you are talking about the crimes of retaliation against Iran, Iraq and Syria.
          You also forgot another retaliatory crime that the USA did….Libya, when Reagan let loose a little justice for Lockerbie.
          __________________________

          And you still haven’t said where you are from.
          I’M AN AMERICAN AND PROUD OF IT! ! ! !

        • GuntherL says

          Dec 31, 2015 at 6:21 pm

          Seriously? You don’t know about the CIA ousting the elected president of Iran in 1952? The support for Saddam Hussein in the eighties? The destruction of Iraq in 2003 for the non-existing wrapons of mass destraction? The continuous support for Saudi-Arabia even when this country supports Isis, exports Salafism (as well as delivering most of the hijackers of 9/11)? Do you really have this little knowledge? Why do you think the US hasn’t been able to weaken Isis, while the Russians seem to able to do so within 4 months? Have you not noticed that the three major allies of the US (S-A, Turkey and Qatar) all support Isis?

        • cjk says

          Dec 31, 2015 at 7:59 pm

          Come on Gunts, you pussy, where you from good guy. LOL!
          Too ashamed of your nation?
          Ashamed that if I know than I can point out exactly where your hateful envy arises from?
          Why you so afraid to let me know what second class place you inhabit ?
          What second class people are your’s, or are they third class? LOL!

        • Joseph says

          Dec 31, 2015 at 8:39 pm

          @ GuntherL
          The destruction of Iraq in 2003 for the non-existing weapons of mass destruction?

          Do you mean the WMD’s that Saddam H. used against Iran in 1983 and 1985 or when he used WMD on his own Kurds in 1988?
          http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/02/iraq_events/html/chemical_warfare.stm

          So if Saddam didn’t have AND use these weapons why is it DOCUMENTED??

          Chemical warfare is banned by the UN and Geneva convention and are considered weapons of mass destruction.

          Face it GuntherL, nobody is perfect but the atrocities committed by these other nations FAR EXCEEDS anything the US has done.

          Gunther, say hi to Veeder for me..
          Name Meaning ::Frisian: topographic name for someone who lived in a low-lying boggy area, a variant of Feeder.
          Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press

          Still a Christian American, still proud.

  8. salim says

    Dec 31, 2015 at 5:48 am

    The feeble successive leaderships in the UK prompted many people to regard Thatcher as legendary, but she wasn’t. The same is true for Reagan in the US. It is a matter of relativity.

  9. Jay says

    Dec 31, 2015 at 9:03 am

    Its time we built another series of battle wagons sporting modern equivalents to 16″ guns, Armored like the Iowa class, but smaller, and more nimble. 6 rifles instead of 9… Sent that sucker in ahead of the carriers, and let it rip off a few 16″ rounds ahead the Iranian popguns. They’ll get the message.

  10. rappini says

    Dec 31, 2015 at 9:16 am

    Rules of engagement need to be changed. I think the Trumpster would have his Navy shoot back.

    • cjk says

      Dec 31, 2015 at 12:58 pm

      Actually the commander would have been justified to have immediately destroyed that ship and any other ship he deemed a threat. He should be sacked.
      The enemy should know that such behavior amounts to a suicide mission.

  11. cjk says

    Dec 31, 2015 at 11:55 am

    ‘So was the German invasion of Poland’, perfect response to that emasculated fool leading thousands of courageous men.

    • Shmooviyet says

      Dec 31, 2015 at 4:00 pm

      @cjk: Agreed.
      Now if only there could be a bit more, say, annoyance shown by the Commander than that careful, tippy-toe response.

      • cjk says

        Dec 31, 2015 at 5:13 pm

        He has revealed himself not fit to lead those men of which I suspect a good percentage are far better than he is.
        If It were up to me he would be immediately relieved for not sinking the offending vessel.
        1500 YARDS!!!!!!!!!!! WTF!

  12. Mark A says

    Dec 31, 2015 at 2:40 pm

    Does the US Navy really think the Iranian Ayatollahs care whether their actions are described as “unsafe, unprofessional, and inconsistent with international maritime law”?

    I’m sure the Iranians view it as a practical demonstration of US weakness in the face of Iranian provocation that the US Navy won’t even retaliate when you fire missiles in their direction.

    Or could it just be a practice run for the Iranian military?

  13. Kevin M. says

    Dec 31, 2015 at 3:58 pm

    That rocket would have been my reason to pull this idiotic “”Iran Deal”, what a joke. Obama (and now we have a total idiot as PM in Canada, crap, I thought when his old man died we saw the last of “Trudeau’s) will get us all killed. Of course he will be safe in his nuclear safe car and bunker. Imagine, these idiots like Trudeau and Obama make decisions that could get us all killed, but won’t affect them, well, for now. They still have to meet the judge of all the universe, yikes, no Christ or grace, no heaven, sorry.

  14. Foolster41 says

    Dec 31, 2015 at 7:49 pm

    This reminds me a lot of an action in a video game I play, called Trouble in Terrorist Town. You play as a group with hidden goals, and a small group are traitors (also known as “T”s).

    One tactic is known as “T baiting” by firing close to someone in hopes that they will fire back and then they can claim self-defense. I suspect this is what Iran is doing.

  15. Angemon says

    Jan 4, 2016 at 8:16 pm

    It’s part of a decades-old pattern of Iranian provocations.

    Mimicking Saddam – and getting away with it, with Obama on the WH.

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