US Military Outraged as Iran Test-fires Missile near USS Truman
Local Editor
The US military was fuming as Iranian ships fired rockets in the Strait of Hormuz when the USS aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman, was reportedly passing 1,500 yards away.
The incident, which was originally reported on Tuesday via two unnamed US military officials, allegedly took place on Saturday. Relatively, the US Central Command called it "provocative, unsafe, and unprofessional."
In the context, one of the officials claimed that the US ships were in an "internationally recognized maritime traffic lane" and not in any country's territorial waters during the time of Iran's naval exercises.
However, Iran issued a warning over maritime radio shortly before conducting the missile test asking vessels to remain clear. Meanwhile, Truman was about 1371 meters away from the launch location.
Yet, while Iranians were "clearly not" trying to target the US ship, the officials called the drill "unnecessarily provocative and unsafe."
A spokesman for US Central Command, Navy Commander Kyle Raines, confirmed that a number of Iran's Revolutionary Guard vessels launched rockets "in close proximity" to the warships and other merchant traffic "after providing only 23 minutes of advance notification."
It is worth mentioning that Truman was in the area along with two warships taking part in the US-led coalition against "ISIS". The USS Buckley, a destroyer, and a French frigate were entering the Persian Gulf through the Hormuz Strait at the time of the incident.
In a similar context, commander of Carrier Strike Group 8, Navy Rear Admiral Bret Batchelder stated that: "Warfighting is the priority; that's why we are here."
Source: New Agencies, Edited by website team
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