A still image of video taken by the U.S. Navy showing Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) craft firing several rockets in close proximity to warships and other commercial traffic in an internationally recognize shipping lane the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. Navy Photo
By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON, Jan 9 (Reuters) – The U.S. Navy released black-and-white video on Saturday it said was taken by an American helicopter showing an Iranian Revolutionary Guards vessel firing unguided rockets on Dec. 26 near warships including the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran on Dec. 31 denied that its Revolutionary Guards vessels had launched the rockets as the United States claimed, with a Revolutionary Guards spokesman saying the “false” accusation was “akin to psychological warfare.”
The U.S. Navy said the infrared radar footage showed an Iranian “fast inshore attack craft” launching several rockets on Dec. 26 “in close proximity” to the Truman, the guided missile destroyer USS Bulkeley, the French naval frigate FS Provence and commercial ships in the busy waterway.
The dispute underscored the ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran despite last year’s international agreement to curb Iran’s nuclear program.
The video, taken by a Seahawk helicopter, runs about 30 seconds. The Navy said the rockets were fired “within an internationally recognized maritime traffic lane” as the Truman and the other ships were passing through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf.
The U.S. military on Dec. 29 made public its account of the incident. A U.S. Central Command spokesman at the time called the Iranian actions “highly provocative, unsafe and unprofessional” and said they called into question Iran’s commitment to the security of a waterway vital to international commerce.
Central Command also said at the time that Iran had provided only 23 minutes of advance notification of its intention to fire rockets. It said the Truman and the two other warships were part of the U.S.-led coalition supporting air strikes against Islamic State forces in Iraq and Syria.
Iran and six world powers, including the United States, reached a deal last July to remove certain U.S., European Union and U.N. sanctions on Tehran in exchange for Iran accepting limits on its nuclear program. (Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by James Dalgleish)
The U.S. military is holding two survivors aboard a Navy ship after rescuing them from a suspected drug vessel in the Caribbean hit by a U.S. strike that killed two others, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Friday.
Governments at the International Maritime Organization decided to postpone for one year the adoption of what would have been the world’s first global carbon pricing system on international shipping at...
A service boat carrying crew members capsized alongside the Scorpio-managed oil/chemical tanker Sea Quest at the outer anchorage of Beira, Mozambique on Thursday, leaving seven people missing and multiple casualties....
October 16, 2025
Total Views: 945
Get The Industry’s Go-To News
Subscribe to gCaptain Daily and stay informed with the latest global maritime and offshore news
— just like 107,293 professionals
Secure Your Spot
on the gCaptain Crew
Stay informed with the latest maritime and offshore news, delivered daily straight to your inbox
— trusted by our 107,293 members
Your Gateway to the Maritime World!
Essential news coupled with the finest maritime content sourced from across the globe.