On August 26 the U.S. Coast Guard fired at an Iranian fishing boat when the boat pointed a machine gun at the Coast Guard vessel.
The incident occurred when Coast Guard Patrol Boat Monomoy launched a smaller vessel that approached “to query the Iranian dhow” on its activities in international waters.
Dhows are wooden boats “typically used for trade” throughout the region.
According to CNN, the Iranian crew “trained and prepared to fire a .50 caliber machine gun on [the smaller] boat as it approached as part of routine maritime security operation.” As this action “demonstrated hostile intent,” the Coast Guard fired one shot “in self-defense.”
The Navy reported that the dhow crew did not respond after one shot was fired, and there “was no indication whether the dhow was struck.”
The Coast Guard is operating with the Navy’s Fifth Fleet in the Persian Gulf.
Fox News reported that Fifth Fleet Commander Kevin Stephens said the incident occurred “around 11:30 a.m. local time.”
The Associated Press reports that “American, Iranian, and other countries’ military vessels routinely patrol the Gulf, a key route for international shipments, usually without incident.”
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