Iran clashes with US Navy, 9 Iranian soldiers dead

Ground Report | New Delhi: Iran clashes with US Navy; Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Monday that nine soldiers were killed in direct clashes with the US Navy in the waters of the Persian Gulf, local media reported.

According to Iranian media, the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, Rear Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, said that the IRGC has suffered nine deaths in clashes with the United States in the Persian Gulf, and responded each time by striking back. He did not clarify when those nine deaths occurred.

"We have given them nine unforgettable slaps, one for each of our martyrs," Tangsiri said, adding that many of the incidents have not been reported by the media, according to a report by the Mehr News Agency.

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Six of the incidents occurred in the past year and a half, he said. It was not reported when the other three events that he mentioned allegedly occurred. He said one of the clashes was the recent clash over an oil tanker that Iran claimed the United States had tried to seize but that the IRGC managed to drive away the attacking forces.

While the Guards claimed they had thwarted an attempt by the American ship to seize the MV Sothys carrying Iranian oil, American defense officials rejected that version, saying that Iran seized the tanker and brought it into its territorial waters. (Iran clashes with US Navy)

Tangsiri's comments came on the same day that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin vowed to counter Iran's "dangerous use" of suicide drones in the Middle East and vowed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Austin's comments on Bahrain at the annual Manama Dialogue appeared to be aimed at reassuring America's Gulf Arab allies and Israel as the Biden administration tries to revive the unraveling 2015 nuclear deal, which had limited enrichment. of uranium from Iran in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions.

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The United States has never reported a serious engagement and exchange of fire with the Iranian Navy, except for warning shots in the past. In May, a US Coast Guard ship fired 30 warning shots at two IRGC fast attack boats. In April, American warships fired warning shots as well.

Revolutionary Guard speedboats and lately drones and helicopters periodically harass US Navy ships in the Persian Gulf or the Sea of ​​Oman.

During the Trump administration, naval encounters with Iran were common. The only serious incident was in July 2017 when a US warship fired two warning shots at Iranian armed speedboats.

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