In the Persian Gulf, US naval forces opened warning fire as speedboats from the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) approached. This was announced on April 27 by the press service of the US Navy.
It is clarified that the American side made a number of warnings through the radio and loudspeaker, but the ships of the IRGC naval forces continued maneuvers at close range.
The crew of the Firebolt was forced to fire warning shots, the IRGC ships withdrew to a safe distance. The press service noted that the actions of the IRGC, in particular, do not comply with the Convention on International Rules for the Prevention of Collisions of Ships at Sea.
On the same day, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing that the United States wants to de-escalate tensions at sea with Iran in order to prevent possible miscalculations in the future. At the same time, he pointed out that the “unsafe and unprofessional activities of the IRGC” at sea is not something new.
“This continues to cause concern. And this, of course, as we said, increases the chances of a miscalculation, which I think will not benefit anyone in this part of the world, ”Kirby said.
A similar incident took place in April 2020. Then the Pentagon stated that the IRGC boats were dangerously maneuvering next to American warships in the Persian Gulf, “cutting off” one of them.
The Iranian side then explained this by the “invasion” of American ships in the area of Iran’s military maneuvers.
On April 21, The Wall Street Journal reported that the administration of United States President Joe Biden had expressed openness to a possible easing of sanctions against Iran following the Vienna talks on the nuclear deal.
According to the newspaper, the United States is ready to ease the sanctions pressure on the Iranian side in terms of the main economic elements, such as the oil and industrial sectors.