Over the weekend, Iran threatened to shoot down two US Navy surveillance aircraft that had been flying close to Iranian territory in the Persian Gulf -- yet another recent provocation from our nuclear partners-in-peace.
According to Fox News, on Sept. 10, a Navy P-8 Poseidon with a crew of nine and an EP-3 Eries with a crew of roughly 24, were flying a reconnaissance mission 13 miles off the coast of Iran, in the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman, just beyond Iran’s territorial waters.
“We wanted to test the Iranian reaction,” one US official said when asked why the US jets were flying so close to Iran. Sure enough, at some point during the flight, the Iranian military warned the two craft to change course or be shot down. The US planes ignored the warning.
“It’s one thing to tell someone to get off your lawn, but we weren’t on their lawn,” the official continued. “Anytime you threaten to shoot someone down, it’s not considered professional.”
A different official said the incident was not considered “unsafe” because there were no Iranian missile launchers in the area.
This is just the latest in a series of confrontations between the US military and Iran in the region, as Fox News noted:
Last month, Iranian fast-boats harassed US Navy warships in the Persian Gulf on at least five occasions. One incident resulting in three warning shots being fired from a US Navy coastal patrol craft, when an Iranian vessel ignored repeated radio calls to change course. On another occasion, an Iranian boat stopped 100 yards in front of a US Navy ship forcing it to take evasive maneuvers.
Dangerous interactions at sea between Iran and the US Navy have doubled in the first half of 2016 compared to the same time last year.
A senior Iranian military commander denied that his vessels had harassed US Navy ships. "Iranian boats continue to act based on defined standards and are well aware of the international laws and regulations, so the claims are not only untrue, but stem from their fear of the power of Iran's soldiers," said Brigadier General Masoud Jazayeri, deputy chief of staff of Iran's armed forces.
Back on Aug. 30, Gen. Joe Votel, the head of US forces in the Middle East, explained Iran’s perceived aggressiveness:“This is principally the regime leadership trying to exert their influence and authority in the region. And they are trying to do it in provocative ways."
That's reassuring.