Iran downplayed reports that IRGC boats in the Strait of Hormuz maneuvered dangerously close to a US military vessel, saying the patrol boats are always in the region as part of routine operations.
Following reports by an American reporter aboard the USS New Orleans military vessel claiming that five IRGC boats maneuvered dangerously close to the amphibious ship in the strait, Alireza Tangsiri, the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Naval Force, said on Tuesday that maintaining a watch over foreign vessels is not unusual and IRGC forces in the country’s southern waters are constantly engaged in such round-the-clock operations, Tasnim News Agency reported.
The commander underlined that IRGC forces are vigilantly monitoring the sea traffic involving any foreign vessel, particularly those from beyond the region and the US, “whose presence in the region poses a potential threat”.
Tangsiri stressed that Americans have been heeding the IRGC warnings in the southern waters for years, saying the hue and cry in foreign media outlets was a result of misunderstanding.
