The USS Thunderbolt fired warning shots at an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval vessel that had “conducted an unsafe and unprofessional interaction” with the US vessel in the Arabian Gulf on July 25, the US Navy said.

In a statement, the US Navy said:

“An Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval vessel conducted an unsafe and unprofessional interaction with a U.S. Navy ship during a coalition exercise in the international waters of the Arabian Gulf, July 25.

“The Iranian vessel made a close approach to coastal patrol ship USS Thunderbolt (PC 12), getting within 150 yards. The Iranian vessel did not respond to repeated attempts to establish radio communications as it approached. Thunderbolt then fired warning flares and sounded the internationally recognized danger signal of five short blasts on the ship’s whistle, but the Iranian vessel continued inbound. As the Iranian vessel proceeded toward the US ship, Thunderbolt again sounded five short blasts prior to firing warning shots in front of the Iranian vessel. After the warning shots were fired, the Iranian vessel halted its unsafe approach.

“The Iranian vessel’s actions were not in accordance with the internationally recognized COLREGs [International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972] ‘rules of the road’ nor internationally recognized maritime customs, creating a risk for collision.”

The US Navy released this footage, saying it showed part of the incident.

Sepah News, the news outlet of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, published a statement in relation to the incident that called the US action “unprofessional and provocative.” Credit: US Navy via Storyful