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Iran: US Navy Again Fires Warning Shots Near Its Vessels

by Associated Press

   TEHRAN, IRAN --

   Iran's state news agency is reporting that a U.S. navy aircraft carrier
   has fired a warning shot in an "unprofessional" confrontation with
   Iranian vessels.
   A Saturday report by the official IRNA news agency says the USS Nimitz
   and an accompanying ship came near an Iranian oil offshore platform in
   the Persian Gulf and a helicopter from the ship hovered near vessels
   manned by Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard.
   The report said the encounter took place Friday afternoon and the U.S.
   Navy ships left the area afterward.
   The confrontation comes just three days after a U.S. Navy patrol boat
   fired warning shots near an Iranian vessel that American sailors said
   came dangerously close to them during a tense encounter.
   Similar incidents have been common between Iranian and American ships
   in recent years.