A US Navy patrol boat fired warning shots Tuesday near an Iranian vessel that American sailors said came dangerously close to them during a tense encounter in the Persian Gulf, the first such incident to happen under President Donald Trump.
The encounter involving the USS Thunderbolt, a Cyclone-class patrol ship based in Bahrain as part of the US Navy’s 5th Fleet, is the latest confrontation between Iranian vessels and American warships.
The Iranian ship did not respond to radio calls, flares and horn blasts as it came within 150 yards (137 meters) of the Thunderbolt, forcing the U.S. sailors aboard to fire the warning shots, McConnaughey said.