U.S. Navy Sails to Rescue of Iran Fishing Boat After Pirate Attack

WASHINGTON (AFP) – An American destroyer has come to the aid of an Iranian fishing boat after a pirate attack off Yemen, the U.S. Navy said Wednesday.

Iran’s coast guard called the U.S. Navy command in Bahrain to report Tuesday’s incident and to ask for help following the attack south of Yemen’s Socotra island, the Navy said in a statement

The U.S. Navy command coordinated with an international naval task force which is in the region to battle pirates.

Along with the Japanese destroyer JS Amagiri, the USS Howard reached the vessel and its sailors “provided food and water, made repairs, and gave medical aid to three injured civilian mariners,” the statement read.

The coordination between Iranian authorities and the U.S. stands in contrast to a series of recent encounters in which the U.S. has complained of unprofessional Iranian naval behavior.

For instance, in July, a U.S. patrol ship fired warning shots at an Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessel in the Gulf as it closed in on the American vessel.