US, Iranian Warships Nearly Collide in Gulf of Aden – Iranian Media

A US warship and military planes almost collided with the Iranian Navy while patrolling waters in the Gulf of Aden.

A couple of US planes and a navy destroyer approached several Iranian warships in the Gulf of Aden on Monday, Iranian Fars News Agency reported, citing a report released by an Iranian TV channel.

Fars called the incident "a provocation," citing the fact that the US warship and planes ignored the internationally set 5-mile distance that navy fleets of different countries have to keep from each other.

As the US ship and planes approached the warships of the 34th Iranian fleet, they received a warning from an Iranian destroyer. After that the Americans changed their direction, Fars reported.

There were reports that Iran was trying to supply weapons to the Houthi rebels in war-torn Yemen. However, Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forced Hassan Firouzabadi dismissed the accusations, stating that the Iranian Navy never entered Yemen's territorial waters, but instead it was in the internationally-recognized waters conducting anti-piracy missions in the Gulf of Aden, the report said.