The United States Defense Department says there have been three confrontations during the past month between the U.S. Navy and Iranian forces in the Persian Gulf. One ended after a U.S. ship fired warning shots to deter the Iranian vessel.
The Pentagon said Friday the warning shots were fired December 19th by the USS Whidbey Island to turn away an approaching Iranian speedboat. In another incident, the Navy said three Iranian patrol boats came into close contact with the USS Carr on December 22nd. The military said the boats turned away after the American ship blew its whistle in warning. The Pentagon on Friday also released what it said is unedited video of the most recent known incident that happened Sunday in the Strait of Hormuz. The video recorded U.S. crewmembers discussing how to deal with threatening Iranian speedboats. Earlier this week, Iranian authorities questioned the authenticity of an edited video released by the Pentagon.