Iran claims its navy helicopter ‘confronted' USS Fitzgerald in Gulf of Oman, US defense official refutes
The report claimed that Iranian forces dispatched the helicopter to confront a US Navy destroyer identified as the USS Fitzgerald that approached the waters at around 10 am local time on Wednesday.
The Iranian state TV said the helicopter flew directly over the US ship and issued a warning to maintain distance.
"US destroyer 'Fitzgerald' attempted to approach waters under Iran's monitoring, in a provocative move", Iranian state TV said, as per Reuters, adding that the destroyer moved out of the area upon continued warning.
In what the report described as a tense exchange, the US warship reportedly responded by threatening to target the Iranian aircraft if it did not leave the area.
The Iranian state TV further reported that in response to the threats from the US vessel, Iranian air defense forces announced that the helicopter was under the full protection of Iran's integrated air defense system.
Eventually the USS Fitzgerald 'retreated southward,' the report said. It was not immediately clear how close the US warship was to Iranian territorial waters.
A US defense official identified the aircraft as an Iranian SH-3 "Sea King" helicopter and said the interaction took place entirely in international waters.
US Central Command disputed the account, calling the encounter a 'safe and professional interaction' and that it had no impact on the USS Fitzgerald's mission.
It said, 'Any reports claiming otherwise are falsehoods' and attempts by Iran to spread misinformation.
'This interaction had no impact to USS Fitzgerald's mission and any reports claiming otherwise are falsehoods and attempts by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to spread misinformation,' a US defense official told Reuters.
The incident was the first direct encounter reported between Iranian and US forces since the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, which also saw the US B-52 bombers strike nuclear-related facilities in the Islamic Republic.
(With inputs from the Associated Press)
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