Iran’s navy forced a U.S. submarine covertly traveling near Iranian territorial waters to emerge and change its course, Rear Adm. Shahram Irani, who commands Tehran’s navy, told state media Thursday, but the U.S. Navy denied the incident ever took place.
The American nuclear-powered submarine USS Florida was “approaching while submerged” in the Strait of Hormuz, a geopolitical flash point between Iran and the Gulf countries, and closed in on Iranian territorial waters “to some extent,” Irani said, according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency. An Iranian submarine detected the vessel and drove it away from the surface accompanied by an escort, he added.
“The Iranian Navy’s recent warning to the US is that they must observe all international rules from now on,” Irani told Tasnim News Agency. (RELATED: Largest Ever US-Israel War Games Send Warning Signal To Iran)
The U.S. 5th Fleet, which operates in the Central Command area of responsibility, denied the USS Florida was deployed near the Strait of Hormuz, calling Irani’s remarks a “disinformation” ploy, according to Reuters.
“A U.S. submarine has not transited the Strait of Hormuz today or recently,” Commander Timothy Hawkins told Reuters.
“Iran’s claim is absolutely false. A U.S. submarine has NOT transited the Strait of Hormuz recently. The claim represents more Iranian disinformation that destabilizes the region,” the fleet said in a subsequent social media statement.
“U.S. 5th Fleet continues to operate wherever international law allows,” the fleet added.
Earlier in April, the Navy announced a deployment of the Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Florida to aid 5th Fleet operations in the Middle East and “to help ensure regional maritime security and stability,” according to the U.S. Naval Institute News.
It’s rare for the Navy to make such public disclosures of sensitive submarine activity, according to USNI News. However, the Pentagon occasionally touts the location of submarines as a deterrence measure.
An unmanned surface vessel from U.S. 5th Fleet transited the Strait of Hormuz with two @USCG cutters, April 19, demonstrating the continued operational integration of unmanned & AI systems by U.S. maritime forces in the Middle East.
Read more ⬇️https://t.co/JtNNLym5Ja pic.twitter.com/8ORVsPCScl
— U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) April 19, 2023
A similar incident to the alleged submarine confrontation occurred earlier this month when the Iranian Navy said it shooed away a U.S. reconnaissance plane near the Gulf of Oman, Reuters reported.
“After the warning, the plane was prevented from entering the country’s skies without authorization,” Tasnim News Agency reported, according to Reuters. The Pentagon did not acknowledge the incident.
Conflict between the U.S. and Iran had deadly consequences recently when a drone that appeared to originate in Iran crashed into a U.S.-Syria coalition base in Syria, killing one American contractor and injuring several U.S. servicemembers. President Joe Biden ordered retaliatory airstrikes on March 23 that targeted facilities used by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force.
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