A Press TV report citing highly placed military-security sources claimed that both the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers were “intercepted and forced to retreat by Iranian naval forces.”
Iranian cruise missiles locked onto US warships as they attempted to sail through the Strait of Hormuz in what Tehran has described as a “failed propaganda stunt” aimed at influencing the failed Islamabad talks, according to Iranian state media.
According to the U.S. military’s Central Command (CENTCOM), two guided-missile destroyers, the USS Frank E. Peterson and the USS Michael Murphy “transited the Strait of Hormuz and operated in the Arabian Gulf” on Saturday.
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However, a Press TV report citing highly placed military-security sources claimed that both the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers were “intercepted and forced to retreat by Iranian naval forces.”
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The report further claimed that Iranian cruise missiles locked onto the US warships and that they were “only a few minutes away from complete destruction”.
Iran also deployed attack drones to target the two US warships that, according to CENTCOM, crossed the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the Iran war.
According to the US military, the move was part of an operation to clear the Strait of Hormuz of sea mines previously laid by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
“Today, we began the process of establishing a new passage and we will share this safe pathway with the maritime industry soon to encourage the free flow of commerce,” said Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM.
Furthermore, the US Navy is planning to deploy underwater drones to clear the mines in the coming days, the report added.
The US attempt to cross the Hormuz Strait, a strategic chokepoint waterway blocked by Iran, coincided with peace talks between the two countries in Islamabad.
The marathon 21-hour talks held throughout Saturday collapsed after both countries failed to reach a permanent agreement to end the war.
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