Never happened (http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/01/09/iran.boats/index.html)

If the US ship would have sent those speed boats to the bottom of the straight ... I wonder what they would have had to say.

Never happened ?

What I liked was that the Iranian Navy tried to make as if it was going to blow up our ships in international waters and then when asked, they described the action as "normal".

I wonder if the officials in Iran were hoping the US Navy would blew those ships out of the water so then they could cry "victim" to the world?

Or maybe it was some attempt to derail Bush's visit to Jerusalem?

I wonder if the officials in Iran were hoping the US Navy would blew those ships out of the water so then they could cry "victim" to the world?

Or maybe it was some attempt to derail Bush's visit to Jerusalem?

Bingo Jihad!

Iran and other Arab nations want Bush's visit to Jerusalem to be a total failure.

Looks like the US is trying to find excuse to attack Iran.

What is the objective of Bush's visit anyway?

Looks like the US is trying to find excuse to attack Iran.

What is the objective of Bush's visit anyway?
Wow. And they didn't even need to blow the ships up. Amazing. rofl

Iran and the US are both on a mission to provoke each other into massive stupidity as far as I can see, and neither are far from that in their regional foreign policy as it is.

They both provoke each other and raise the tension regularly. I don't see this incident as anything exceptional, but I guess the reference to a "suicide boat" attack is nice and emotive when you're painting one side as the villain. These things happen every day, but this was a good one to make the news - timed for Bush's visit yes, but by the US media machine, not Iran. They could have pointed to any number of incidents, but this one was the right day.

The Straits of Hormuz are as close as territorial waters to Iran and Oman. I would imagine that any hot-headed Iranian sailor might see the presence of US warships within a few km of his house as irritating and provocative. It's a dumb thing to do though: That sailor is either very stupid, or has balls like spacehoppers. Maybe both. :D

What have we done to "provoke" Iran?

The Straights of Hormuz simply ARE international waters. "As close as" territorial waters doesn't count. There is freedom of navigation there and we have a right to be there under international law. So do the Iranians. And anyone else who wants to be there. Nothing provocative about it.

Oman isn't charging boats at us.

Did you watch the videos? Tell me what would you do if you were a US commander of a vessel and Iranians speedboats were charging you and taking evasive action, saying in a few minutes you were going to blow up?

I don't know who the radio broadcast came from, or whether anyone was genuinely frightened. Nor do any of us. But what I do know is that these incidents happen all the time, from both sides. US ships approach Iranian ships. Iranian patrol boats buzz the US ship. Americans say this. Iranians say that. It's all childish, it's all dangerous, and this incident is not special.

As for the right to navigate international waters, no doubt. But I would suggest that if an Iranian destroyer were on the edge of US territorial waters, which it has every right to be, it would be approached and investigated. Maybe even threatened, however childish and counter-productive that might be.

So, much like the Iranian nuclear program, they never were pursuing nuclear weapons but they stopped their nuclear weapons program a couple of years ago ?

I find it extremely funny too see soldiers taking videos while their ship was being threatened! Very funny indeed!

Sting,

live pictures from the battlefront are regularly beamed back to Operation control - quite often the cameras are on soldiers helmets........and in this day of propaganda, I would consider it vital to have photographic evidence to counter ridiculous accusations

Mimosa,

Hi

These things happen every day, but this was a good one to make the news - timed for Bush's visit yes, but by the US media machine, not Iran

Pray why would this be reported by Iran..........? Perhaps it would go something like this:

"Breaking news..........our brave Iranian soldiers attempted to provoke American warships in International Waters to fire on them. Sadly, the mission failed as the Americans did not fire.

And now the football results (shut your eyes if you are female - or if you don't want to know the score)"

Would be interesting to read comments from individuals who actually served in the military (but most specifically Navy or some other maritime branch where the rules and regulations are spelled out) and that they understand the rules and regulations of being out there in international waters and what the evasive actions are in regards to incidents like these.

As far as taking videos could be protocol esp. to prove that these boats were being hostile.

Mr P, I think the US reported the story first. Maybe you misunderstood me.

Well, to be honest, I decided that the video was nothing but crap when they played that weird sounding Iranian saying: "We're are coming, you will blast in few minutes!"

Ironically, the Iranian sounded so much like a bad guy even there! And also, that wasn't the accent of an English speaking Iranian.

Its ********, trust me, ******** just as WMD and many more crap from the Bush government.

The thing that convinces me that that is not so is that the Iranians themselves did not deny it.

Jeff, please check this link:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2008/January/middleeast_January158.xml&section=middleeast

http://www.timesofoman.com/inner_cat.asp?cat=2&detail=13525&rand=2SFiOTgCkZU3cbkpDS7EShjfik

I hope now you change your mind :)

Jeff, please check this link:

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2008/January/middleeast_January158.xml&section=middleeast

http://www.timesofoman.com/inner_cat.asp?cat=2&detail=13525&rand=2SFiOTgCkZU3cbkpDS7EShjfik

I hope now you change your mind :)I'm convinced ... that is what he should say Sting. What else could he say?

We harrassed US war ships and told them we would blow them up ... :p

Well, the second excerpt is not any kind of denial, just general talk.

The first excerpt only denies that the video is a "fake", but doesn't say that there was no commentary "You will explode".

The problems I have with taking all this at face value is for several reasons.

I know many people in the Navy, including officers. My wife's cousin is a Lebanese officer in the Navy. There are certainly a few people there just as anywhere else who might tell lies.

But in the main, they are exceptionally honest and professional people and they don't like nonsense and lies.

There are hundreds of sailors and officers on that warship. Many of them would have seen what happened with the Iranian boats. If the videos were "faked", they would not keep quiet. They complain constantly and publicly about it when their superiors make excuses for things. And the politics of sailors varies all over the board...many of them dislike Bush and are not shy about saying it.

The boats in the video I saw were not just approaching to ask for identification. They were using what is called "evasive maneuvers". They were zig-zagging wildly all over the place in loop-de-loops which is what you do when you are attacking someone and hoping not to be hit. With more than one boat, this forces a choice on the defender of hitting one and not the other, in addition.

No: I don't buy these conspiracy theories. As you see with weapons of mass destruction and Abu Ghraib, if the government tries to make stuff up and hide things in these situations, there are always hundreds of people with access to the information that will call them on it and talk publicly.

But I do think Mimo has hit on something important. It may very well have been that this decision was not made by the central Iranian government, but rather on the spot by underlings. Whatever Iranian Revolutionary Guard officer was on the spot may have honestly thought that the boats were in Iranian waters and perhaps someone on the boats was just venting his spleen at the Americans with the bombing remark, showing off.

Then, after it became international, middle level officers might have done their best to tidy up and make excuses.

My bet is that someone has been punished for this incident in Iran.

Back during the Iran-Iraq war, there was an incident involving an Iraq pilot who flew a plane over the Persian Gulf and crashed into an American aircraft carrier on purpose, killing many sailors. The captain of the ship waited too long, thinking that the plane must have some harmless intention.

And sailors and officers of the Navy remember that very well. So the forbearance in this case was remarkable, I thought.

All in all, a welcome pullback from the brink of military action.

Mimosa,

Of course the US broke the story first...............after all, I can't imagine why Iran would have wanted to

i.e. "Breaking news..........our brave Iranian soldiers attempted to provoke American warships in International Waters to fire on them. Sadly, the mission failed as the Americans did not fire. However, here is the footage of our failed mission"

^^

I doubt that this was a planned action, just Rev Guards making a mistake and getting hotheaded.

I think the same is true of the capture of the British sailors. That's why at first the Iranians artlessly gave the correct position of the British boat in International Waters...

So, much like the Iranian nuclear program, they never ever were pursuing a nuclear weapon program but all the same they stopped their nuclear weapons program a couple of years ago ?

No, they have a nuclear program, but it's for peaceful purposes only!

All oil rich nations use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes: Just look at Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

But some might reply: they need to lie to conceal their right to build nuclear weapons which the US wants to deny them.

Well? Then perhaps they need to lie too about working with our enemies and provoking our ships, either to protect themselves from foolish underlings or to as part of the justified war against an imperialist US which supports Israel.

I think they do buzz and irritate and provoke the Americans deliberately and frequently, just as the US Navy makes frequent "shows of strength" when it encounters Iranian warships.

But like you said, it's good there was no resultant escalation.

Lets analyze the facts:

We have two sets of videos and two governments that are saying two different stories.

Now, all we can do is choose to believe one of them.

I can't believe the Bush administration because all it does is lie and lie. From the start, all its policies and actions were based on lies. It invaded a couple of countries based on such lies. It said Saddam was a dictator but it actually supports one in Pakistan.

Any logical and sane person would know that Bush administration can't be trust.

On the other hand, I can't recall Iranian government saying/doing things that ended up being lies, therefore, I would trust Iran.

Good night ladies and gentlemen :D

I'll humour you Sting..........am feeling in a good mood

What were the lies surrounding the Allied interventions in Afghanistan?

Thanks

Oh Lord no, not again.

Stinger, the Iranian government do lie quite a lot in their foreign language media. I don't know what their Farsi language media is like. But if you ever watched their Arabic language satellite channel you'd know what I mean...seriously creative!

I know you admire Ahmedinejad and don't like Bush. To a point, I'd agree. But don't let it make you irrational!

"Not again"? :p

This is politics sabla. It never ends! :p

Wouldn't it be cool to have a thread about what's going on in Venezuela? Or in Burma? Or in Congo/Zaire?

But politics for most of these folks is regional. Understandable.

Answering Qs with Qs is not humor, its Chickening :p

Not understanding an English Idiom is pretty sad.

I find it extremely funny too see soldiers taking videos while their ship was being threatened! Very funny indeed!
You found it funny ...

Lets analyze the facts:

We have two sets of videos and two governments that are saying two different stories.

Now, all we can do is choose to believe one of them.

I can't believe the Bush administration because all it does is lie and lie. From the start, all its policies and actions were based on lies. It invaded a couple of countries based on such lies. It said Saddam was a dictator but it actually supports one in Pakistan.

Any logical and sane person would know that Bush administration can't be trust.

On the other hand, I can't recall Iranian government saying/doing things that ended up being lies, therefore, I would trust Iran.

Good night ladies and gentlemen :DThen you didn't find it funny ...

Yes ... Very funny indeed!

In Al Alam channel they brought another video or sound clip that doesn't mention any threat, just direct orders to avoid entering the Iranian waters.

You found it funny ...

Then you didn't find it funny ...

Yes ... Very funny indeed!

Yes Jack, I found your post hilarious !

The pointy end of a bee and Inconsistency - a marriage made in heaven.

What Iran was referring to as a normal procedure is apparent in the video below, Iran is the one who's provoked with the presence of the American & British ships near Iranian soil.

Iran Navy's view of Hormuz

The U.S navy personnel are cowards, same as they were back in 1988 when they shot down a commercial airliner thinking that it was a fighter jet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran_Air_Flight_655) trying to attack them.

jack, so you agree with me or not? Don't tell me its fine for Americans soldiers to take videos while being attacked but not for Iranians while passing through a fancy piece of American machinery?

Either both are false or none is :)

I'm convinced ... that is what he should say Sting. What else could he say?

We harrassed US war ships and told them we would blow them up ... :p

Iranian patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz last weekend may have come not from the Iranian crews, but from a locally famous heckler known among ship drivers as the "Filipino Monkey."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004121278_iran12.html

Was it god voice?

Iranian patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz last weekend may have come not from the Iranian crews, but from a locally famous heckler known among ship drivers as the "Filipino Monkey."

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004121278_iran12.html

Was it god voice?


or the boy in the well?

i believe the Iranians did this, if they did indeed, to send a message to the US that we are not afraid and you can start your war now instead of mere verbal threats.