US defends its provocation against Iran in Persian Gulf

This US Navy photo obtained July 29, 2017 shows Sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) as they stand watch in an A/S 32-P-25 fire-fighting truck on the flight deck as an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to the "Wolf Pack" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 75, flies above on July 24, 2017 in the Persian Gulf. (Photo by AFP)

The United States is defending its provoking move against Iranian ships in the Persian Gulf as “professional.”

On Saturday, Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) reported a second provocation by US warships in the Persian Gulf waters less than a week after a similar incident.

A US aircraft carrier “flew a helicopter near the Resalat oil and gas platform and approached the IRGC’s ships,” IRGC Navy said in a statement, adding that the US also resorted to shooting flares to warn the Iranian side.

In response, Navy spokesman Lieutenant Ian M. McConnaughey called the move “safe and professional."

The Bahrain-based 5th Fleet also claimed that several Iranian vessels were approaching American ships "at a high rate of speed."

Iranian naval forces are tasked with guaranteeing security within the country’s maritime borders, where they have been involved in a series of face-offs with US vessels for intrusion into Iranian territorial waters.

Iran has repeatedly warned that any act of transgression into Iran’s territorial waters would be met with an immediate and befitting response.

In recent years, Iran’s Navy has increased its presence in international waters to protect naval routes and provide security for merchant vessels and tankers. It has also conducted major drills to enhance its defense capabilities.