Pentagon refutes alleged incident involving Iranian navy in Strait of Hormuz.
The Department of Defense Denies Iranian Reports of Incident with U.S. Forces
The Department of Defense has firmly denied reports from Iran regarding an alleged incident between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy and U.S. forces in the region. The IRGC’s navy released a video over the weekend, claiming to show its forces intercepting the USS Bataan and the USS Thomas Hudner near the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday. However, a Pentagon spokeswoman has categorically denied the occurrence of any such incident.
“I saw those reports. That is not true. I believe what you’re referring to is that they had forced one of our aircraft — that report is not true,” deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said on Monday. “I don’t know where that’s coming from, but we’ve seen this from them before pushing out, I don’t know if it’s propaganda but I would say untrue statements.”
Singh admitted that she had not seen the video published by the IRGC, but she reiterated her stance that no such incident took place last week.
“I have not seen the video,” she said. “But I can just tell you the reports that there was some type of intercept of a U.S. helicopter is just not true.”
The U.S. military has increased its presence in the region due to heightened Iranian aggression in the maritime environment. In early August, over 3,000 U.S. sailors and Marines from the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group and 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit arrived in the Middle East to reinforce the existing U.S. presence in the area. Iran has been involved in attacks, seizures, or attempted seizures of approximately 20 internationally flagged merchant vessels in the region over the past two years.
Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, the commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, addressed IRGC commanders in Tehran over the weekend, stating, “Today, the US is declining more than ever, and the enemy is at the peak of its weakness.” He attributed this achievement to the wisdom and tactfulness of the Leader, as well as the efforts and perseverance of the Islamic Ummah.
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