Iran Navy Confronts US Destroyer in Gulf of Oman

Defence affairs

Iran deployed a naval helicopter to warn off a U.S. Navy destroyer in the Gulf of Oman, the country's state media reported, in a clash Tehran says forced the American vessel to retreat.

It comes during a period of heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran. The U.S. struck Iranian nuclear facilities in June, briefly joining Israel's 12-day war to knock out Tehran's uranium enrichment capabilities.

President Donald Trump urged Tehran into fresh nuclear talks, warning that the U.S. would strike again if Iran sought to rebuild the facilities. He has said Iran must never be allowed to build a nuclear bomb, something Tehran denies that it is seeking to do.

The confrontation took place at around 10 a.m. local time on Wednesday, July 23, Tasnim News Agency reported, and involved the USS Fitzgerald.

The report claimed that the destroyer threatened to target the Iranian helicopter unless it left the area. But the helicopter pilot persisted, Tasnim said, and the USS Fitzgerald ultimately changed course.

Tasnim, which is linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), shared a video it said was of the incident.

Iran uses its influence over nearby waterways as strategic leverage. Its position along the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman gives it the option of disrupting major shipping routes and delivering painful economic blows.