THE TELEGRAPH: The United States navy fired warning shots at two Iranian boats in the Gulf yesterday in the worst confrontation yet in the world's busiest oil shipping lanes.
A US forces security team on a chartered transport ship used loudhailers, radios and flares to warn off two small Iranian boats acting in an "unclear" manner.
But the boats ignored the warning and the Americans opened fire, unleashing several bursts of live ammunition. The incident took place in the early morning near the international boundary in an area designated by the US navy as the Central Arabian Gulf. The boats turned away but the US vessel, the Westward Venture, was asked to identify itself by the Iranian coastguard minutes later.
The incident heightened fears over the stability of a key energy artery, helping propel the price of Brent crude to a record high in late afternoon trading.
A spokesman for the US navy in Bahrain said the security team used.50-calibre machineguns and M-16 assault rifles to warn off the boats. Cdr Lydia Robertson said: "The small boats left the area a short time later. We were able to avoid a serious incident by following the procedures that we use." US Navy Fires at Iranian Boats as Tension Rises in the Gulf >>> By Damien McElroy, Foreign Affairs Correspondent | April 26, 2008
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