It is beginning to become rather easy to understand how the world’s political ideologies are separating themselves, and who’s going to end up on whose side when push comes to shove.
The simple division seems to be between the authoritarian regimes and the democracies: Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and Saudi Arabia representing the former, the west and NATO essentially constituting a bulk of the latter.
And, as these disparate forces collide, there is bound to be international tension.
Iranian naval vessels challenged ships from the U.S. 5th Fleet sailing through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, leading the U.S. to respond with warning flares.
Three Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy vessels (IRGCN) approached a U.S. convoy comprised of the coastal patrol ship USS Sirocco and the fast transport ship USNS Choctaw County, which were conducting a routine transit through the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command 5th Fleet said in a statement.
The situation was hairy, at least for a moment.
“One of the IRGCN vessels approached Sirocco head-on at a dangerously high speed and only altered course after the U.S. patrol coastal ship issued audible warning signals to avoid collision. The Iranian vessel also came within 50 yards of the U.S. Navy ship during the interaction, and Sirocco responded by deploying a warning flare,” the statement declared.
Authorities relayed that the entire confrontation lasted about one hour, after which point the US vessels were able to peacefully complete their routine transit of the strait.
