U.S. ship fires warning shots at Iranian boats

A U.S. Coast Guard Cutter fired approximately 30 warning shots at Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) boats fast approaching a U.S. naval formation in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. 

Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said a group of 13 Iranian fast-attack boats "conducted unsafe and unprofessional maneuvers."

Two of the boats broke off from the 13 and approached at high speed (in excess of 32 knots), getting as close as 150 yards to two U.S. vessels, according to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. 

The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Maui fired two volleys of shots with a .50 caliber machine gun for a total of approximately 30 warning shots before the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy boats broke contact. The Coast Guard ship was part of the formation escorting the USS Georgia into the strait on Monday. 

Monday's incident follows at least two "unsafe and unprofessional" encounters U.S. ships had with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy in April, according to statements from the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet. 

One of vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz in the formation Monday was the USS Monterey, which seized illicit weapons in the North Arabian Sea last week. According to the U.S. Navy, the ship seized Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles, thousands of Chinese Type 56 assault rifles, hundreds of PKM machine guns, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenades launchers.