US Denies Iranian Navy Forced Submarine to Surface in Gulf

Iran said that its navy forced an American submarine to surface as it entered the Persian Gulf, a claim rejected by the US Navy as “absolutely false.”

“The US submarine was approaching while submerged, but the Iranian submarine Fateh detected it and carried out...maneuvers to force it to surface as it went through the Strait [of Hormuz]. It had also entered into our territorial waters but...it corrected its course after being warned,” Iranian navy commander Shahram Irani told state television on April 20.

“This submarine was doing its best, using all its capacities, to pass in total silence and without being detected,” Irani added. “We will certainly reflect to international bodies the fact that it had violated our border.”

The US Navy’s 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, rejected Irani’s claim as “absolutely false.”

“A U.S. submarine has NOT transited the Strait of Hormuz recently. The claim represents more Iranian disinformation that destabilizes the region. U.S. 5th Fleet continues to operate wherever international law allows,” it said in a tweet.

On April 10, the Iranian Foreign Ministry accused the United States of “warmongering” after the US Navy announced it was deploying a guided missile submarine in the Middle East in support of its 5th Fleet.   

The development came amid heightened tensions in the region. In recent weeks, US military commanders have warned that Iran’s missile and drone capabilities as well as advances in its nuclear program pose serious threats to regional security. The US military blamed Iran-backed militias for a deadly attack on one of its facilities in northeast Syria last month.