Iran Responds to US Video Footage of Naval Standoff

In an update to Armed Forces International's previous coverage of recent events in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Revolutionary Guards are now claiming that the US Navy effectively made up evidence that three of its ships were threatened by Iranian speedboats.

The US has issued video coverage of the event, which seems to depict the speedboats travelling at speed close to the vessels. Audio coverage of the same situation appears to include the comment "I am coming at you; you will explode" - said to be the words of an Iranian.

Revolutionary Guards: USN Video Merged Images with Made-Up Audio

Now, a source speaking for the Revolutionary Guards has been quoted by local media as having said: "The footage released by the US Navy are file pictures and the audio has been fabricated."

According to the Pentagon, the US ships were preparing to launch an attack on the speedboats when they retreated. In the words of George W Bush, the US President, the episode was a "provocative" one, a "dangerous situation."

The video footage is alleged to have been captured from the USS Hopper, one of three USN vessels at the scene. A close-up provides some degree of detail on one of the speedboats, which can be identified as blue in colour, and with two or more crew members.

Video Includes US Navy Crewman's Warning to Speedboats

One the speedboats have been spotted advancing towards the USN vessels, the voice of a US crewman can be detected issuing them a warning. "Request you establish communications, identify yourself and state your intentions, over", he states, subsequently making reference to "five unidentified small surface" craft.

The video is four minutes in duration - compacting an event that, according to US officials, lasted 20 minutes in real-time.

At its culmination, the video's imagery disappears, with audio only provided from that point on.

A final US-issued warning threatens the prospect of "defensive measures" to be unleashed unless the speedboats flee the scene.

Pentagon Adamant that Navy Boats in International Waters

The incident, the Pentagon has insisted, occurred in international waters.

Officials in Iran have quelled its severity by referring to it as an "ordinary occurrence."

A spokesman for the country's foreign ministry added: "This... happens for the two sides every once in a while and, after the identification of the two sides, the issue is resolved."

Source - Armed Forces International's Naval Expert

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