五角大楼称，在波斯湾航行的美国海军舰只在遭到伊朗舰艇不断靠近的挑衅之后，美舰艇被迫开枪和火光警告。
在周三的一次事件中，一艘伊朗船只迎头驶近另一艘美国舰艇，美狂风号巡逻舰为此三次向伊朗船方向的水中开枪警告。
美国国防部发言人彼得·库克周四告诉记者，伊朗船只进入了距离暴风号182米的范围，并且无视驾驶台对驾驶台的几次广播呼叫和警告信号，最终该船调转了方向。
库克说，“舰艇上的海军官兵认为，这些事件是不安全的。这些事件有升级的危险，我们不希望看到任何方式的升级。我们的舰艇在那个区域行动已经很多年了。”
美国官员称，骚扰暴风号的那艘伊朗船只周三还在同一水域从斯托特号驱逐舰的面前高速穿梭了三次。
这些事件涉及伊朗船只和美国海军第五舰队的部分舰艇，历时数天。除了狂风号和暴风号两艘巡逻舰外，还涉及尼采号和斯托特号驱逐舰。
第五舰队发言人厄本说，骚扰尼采号的伊朗船只无视几次广播、哨子和火光警告。他将伊朗的行为形容为“不安全、不专业、也不合常规”。
面对美国的指责，伊朗态度傲慢。伊朗半官方的塔斯尼姆通讯社周四援引侯赛因·达赫甘将军的话，“如果任何外国船只进入我们的海域，我们就警告它们。如果是入侵，我们就与他们对峙。” 他还说，伊朗船只在自己的领属海域巡逻，以便监控交通和外来船只。
U.S. Navy ships sailing in the Persian Gulf were forced to fire warning shots and flares after being harassed by Iranian vessels in increasing close encounters, the Pentagon says.
In one incident Wednesday, the patrol ship USS Squall fired three warning shots into the water in the direction of an Iranian boat that was approaching another American ship head-on.
Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters Thursday the Iranian boat came within 182 meters of the USS Tempest and ignored several bridge-to-bridge radio calls and warning flares. It eventually turned away.
“These were incidents that the crews deemed unsafe,” Cook said. “These are incidents that carry a risk of escalation, and we don't desire any kind of escalation. Our ships have been operating in that part of the world for years.”
The same Iranian boat that harassed the USS Tempest also crossed in front of the USS Stout three times at a high rate of speed Wednesday in the same region, U.S. officials say.
The incidents involving the Iranian ships and parts of the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet spanned multiple days. Besides the two patrol ships, the USS Squall and Tempest, two U.S. destroyers, the USS Nitze and Stout, also were involved.
William Urban, a spokesman for the 5th Fleet, said the Iranian vessels that buzzed the Nitze ignored repeated radio, whistle and flare warnings. He described the Iranian actions as “unsafe and unprofessional, and not routine."
But Iran remained defiant in the face of U.S. accusations. Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency on Thursday quoted General Hosein Dehghan as saying, "If any foreign vessel enters our waters, we warn them, and if it's an invasion, we confront." He added that Iranian boats patrol to monitor traffic and foreign vessels in its territorial waters.
