A U.S. Navy coastal patrol ship fired warning shots at an Iranian ship that sailed within 200 yards in the Northern Persian Gulf Wednesday in the second close call this week involving U.S. and Iranian vessels, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News on Thursday.
The USS Squall fired the shots, according to the official.
In the earlier incident, four Iranian small boats "harassed" the USS Nitze Tuesday, sailing near the guided missile destroyer in the Persian Gulf, a U.S. Navy official told Fox News. The U.S. Navy described the incident as "unsafe and unprofessional" and said it occurred in international waters in the narrow Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. Navy video of the incident showed American sailors on the Nitze firing flares and sounding the warship's horn as the Iranian boats approached. The official said the Nitze was ultimately forced to change its course to avoid the Iranian ships, despite coming close to offshore oil rigs.
