http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N25376271.htmUS-contracted ship fires toward Iranian boat
WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - A cargo ship contracted by the U.S Military Sealift Command fired "a few bursts" of warning shots in the Gulf at small boats believed to be Iranian, U.S. defense officials said on Friday.
"They were able to avoid a serious incident by following the procedures that we use," said Commander Lydia Robertson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet.
The Westward Venture, a cargo ship chartered by the U.S. Department of Defense, was traveling north in international waters in the central Gulf at around
8 a.m. local time on Thursday when the incident took place, Robertson said.
The ship was approached by two unidentified small boats and its crew issued "standard queries" to the vessels by radio but did not receive a response, she said. The ship then fired a flare, which also produced no response, she said.
The boats continued to approach the cargo ship and its onboard security team fired "a few bursts" of machine gun and rifle warning shots, Robertson said.
"The small boats left the area a short time later," Robertson by telephone.
A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the boats were believed to be Iranian.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N25413115.htmTop US officer warns of Iran efforts in Iraq, region
WASHINGTON, April 25 (Reuters) - The Pentagon sharpened its warnings about Iran on Friday, saying Tehran had boosted its support for Iraqi militias fighting U.S. troops and that Washington had military options to force Iran to stop.
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the military had evidence Iran was sending new weapons to Iraqi insurgents despite Tehran's commitment to the government in Baghdad that it would halt such support.
"The Iranian government pledged to halt such activity some months ago," Mullen said. "It's plainly obvious they have not. Indeed, they seem to have gone the other way."
Mullen also said he was "extremely concerned" about Iran's activities throughout the region, including its support for Islamist groups Hezbollah and Hamas.
...
"When I say I don't want to take any military options off the table, that certainly more than implies that we have military options," Mullen told reporters. "That kind of planning activity has been going on for a long time. I think it will go on for some time into the future." http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120908648760443713.html?mod=hpp_us_whats_newsU.S. Says New Find Shows
Iran Still Sends Arms to Iraq
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military says it has found caches of newly made Iranian weapons in Iraq, leading senior officials to conclude Tehran is continuing to funnel armaments into Iraq despite its pledges to the contrary.
Officials in Washington and Baghdad said the purported Iranian mortars, rockets and explosives had date stamps indicating they were manufactured in the past two months. The U.S. plans to publicize the weapons caches in coming days.
A pair of senior commanders said a presentation was tentatively planned for Monday.The allegations, which couldn't be independently verified, mark a further hardening of U.S. rhetoric on Iran, which senior American officials now describe as the greatest long-term threat to Iraq.
This month, Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Iranian support for Shiite extremist groups had grown. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said for the first time that he believed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad knew about the shipments.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
