According to a statement from Iran’s military, the US warship approached waters monitored by Iran, prompting a rapid-reaction helicopter from the Third Naval Region of the Iranian Army’s Navy (NEDAJA) to deploy.
The helicopter hovered over the destroyer and delivered a clear radio warning to steer clear of Iranian-monitored waters.
In the ensuing standoff, the crew of the USS Fitzgerald threatened to engage the helicopter if it remained in proximity.
Iran’s Army Air Defense Command then intervened, declaring the helicopter under full air defense protection and ordering the American destroyer to change its course.
According to the statement, the USS Fitzgerald complied, heading south away from the disputed area.
Is this different from typical boundary testing? All major militaries will do this to gage response time of other countries.
Only one major military does this in every single ocean of the world on every single nation’s naval borders and only one does so weeks after dropping bunker busters on nuclear sites in an unprovoked preemptive strike.
Damn, good job Iran staring down Goliath empire! 🇮🇷 🫡
