Two unnamed U.S. defense officials described Iran’s action as “unsafe and unprofessional.”
Here we go again with the Mr.-Rogers-Responds-To-Darth-Vader act. This was not “unsafe and unprofessional.” It was a deliberate provocation by a government that considers itself to be at war with the United States. Get the full background in my book The Complete Infidel’s Guide to Iran.
“Iranian vessel points weapon at U.S. helicopter: officials,” by Idrees Ali, Reuters, November 29, 2016:
A small Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard vessel pointed its weapon at a U.S. military helicopter in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Monday, an action they described as “unsafe and unprofessional.”
The incident is the latest in a series of similar actions by Iranian vessels this year, but the first reported since Republican Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 8.
During his campaign, Trump vowed that any Iranian vessel that harassed the U.S. Navy in the Gulf would be “shot out of the water,” if he was elected. Trump is due to take office on Jan. 20.
There was no immediate Iranian comment on the incident. Trump’s transition team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the incident took place when a Navy MH-60 helicopter flew within half a mile (0.8 km) of two Iranian vessels in international waters. One of the vessels pointed a weapon at the helicopter, the U.S. officials said.
“The behavior by our standards is provocative and could be seen as an escalation,” the officials said. At no point did the crew of the helicopter feel threatened, they added….