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The US Navy denied on Thursday Iran's claim that it forced a US cruise-missile submarine to surface in the Strait of Hormuz, after Washington had deployed the vessel to the region in a show of force toward Tehran earlier this month.
Rear Adm. Shahram Irani, top commander of the Iranian navy, said that the crew of its Fateh submarine detected the USS Florida stealthily approaching the Strait of Hormuz underwater and forced it to surface.
Irani claimed on state television that the Florida "entered into our territorial waters" but changed course following a warning.
The US Navy's 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, flatly denied the interaction occurred.
“Iran's claim is absolutely false. A US submarine has NOT transited the Strait of Hormuz recently. The claim represents more Iranian disinformation that destabilizes the region,” command said on Twitter. “US Fifth Fleet continues to operate wherever international law allows.”
The US 5th Fleet sent an unmanned surface vessel through the Strait of Hormuz for the first time on Thursday, however, the US Navy said in a separate statement.
A fast-attack ship operated by naval forces of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and an Iranian drone observed the transit by the unmanned 41-foot L3 Harris Arabian Fox MAST-13 vessel, which was accompanied by two US Coast Guard Cutters, US Navy spokesperson Cmdr. Tim Hawkins told The Associated Press.
Why it matters: Tensions between the United States and Iran in the Persian Gulf and its vicinity are not new. US and Iranian navy surface ships have had a number of close encounters over the past several years.
Iran's claim came after the US Navy deployed the USS Florida to the Middle East via the Suez Canal earlier this month. The deployment followed intelligence regarding threats by Iran and its regional proxies, Al-Monitor’s Pentagon correspondent Jared Szuba reported at the time.
Know more: The US 5th Fleet has been fielding unmanned surface and subsurface vessels equipped with sensors to expand US monitoring of Middle Eastern waterways in the wake of a series of maritime attacks by Iran in recent years.
