# Iran seems to be getting a little ballsy with some of the US fleet. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 29, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-seems-to-be-getting-a-little-ballsy-with-some-of-the-us-fleet/744609 "2016-01-29T20:45:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-seems-to-be-getting-a-little-ballsy-with-some-of-the-us-fleet/744609/1 "2016-01-29T20:45:21Z")
First they fired a missile near a US warship. > **[Close encounter between U.S. warship and Iranian rocket | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2015/12/29/politics/iran-missile-test-uss-harry-truman-aircraft-carrier/)** > > A U.S. aircraft carrier came within about 1,500 yards of an Iranian rocket while operating in the Strait of Hormuz, a Pentagon official told CNN. \*A U.S. aircraft carrier came within about 1,500 yards of an Iranian rocket while operating in the Strait of Hormuz, a Pentagon official told CNN. While transiting the strait that sits at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, the USS Harry S. Truman had the encounter while the Iranian Revolutionary Guards were conducting a live-fire exercise in the area on Saturday, according to Cmdr. Kyle Raines, a U.S. Central Command spokesman.\* Now they overfly a US warship with a drone. > **[Iranian surveillance drone flies over U.S. aircraft carrier in Persian Gulf |...](https://www.cnn.com/2016/01/29/politics/iran-drone-uss-harry-truman/index.html)** > > Iran flew a drone over a U.S. aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf recently, an incident the U.S. Navy calls "abnormal and unprofessional." \*A Navy helicopter launched from the Truman then determined that the unmanned aerial vehicle wasn’t weaponized. “Because the UAV was unarmed and posed no risk to the carrier’s flight operations (since it wasn’t flying at the time), we determined that … the Iranian UAV’s actions posed no danger to the ship,” Stephens said in his statement. “It was however, abnormal and unprofessional.”\* In both cases the US warship was a nuclear carrier. They really seem intent on pushing the limit of restraint here. Not exactly a wise thing on their part. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-seems-to-be-getting-a-little-ballsy-with-some-of-the-us-fleet/744609/2 "2016-01-29T20:52:08Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > “Because the UAV was unarmed and posed no risk to the carrier’s flight operations (since it wasn’t flying at the time), we determined that … the Iranian UAV’s actions posed no danger to the ship,” Stephens said in his statement. “It was however, abnormal and unprofessional.” I am very surprised. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-seems-to-be-getting-a-little-ballsy-with-some-of-the-us-fleet/744609/3 "2016-01-29T21:25:04Z")
“Pardon me for asking, Supreme Leader Khamenei, but what good are snub drones going to be against _that?_” ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-seems-to-be-getting-a-little-ballsy-with-some-of-the-us-fleet/744609/4 "2016-01-29T21:30:03Z")
Iran is playing the geopolitical version of “I’m not touching you. I’m not touching you. I’m not touching you.” With a heaping serving of “Here’s the line, you can’t cross it, everything on this side is mine.” Whatever tingles their teensy tiny balls. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-seems-to-be-getting-a-little-ballsy-with-some-of-the-us-fleet/744609/5 "2016-01-29T22:42:47Z")
Meh. The US & USSR used to play a higher tension version of those games all the time and nobody paid it too much mind. Iran’s engaged in some pretty dodgy politics in the past, but it seems to me they’ve been reasonably decent for a non-ally. Once they got rid of Ahmadinejad. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-seems-to-be-getting-a-little-ballsy-with-some-of-the-us-fleet/744609/6 "2016-01-29T23:18:40Z")
It’s all fun and games until someone gets an eye put out… ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-seems-to-be-getting-a-little-ballsy-with-some-of-the-us-fleet/744609/7 "2016-01-29T23:24:58Z")
> [@The Great Sun Jester](#): > > Meh. The US & USSR used to play a higher tension version of those games all the time and nobody paid it too much mind. Iran’s engaged in some pretty dodgy politics in the past, but it seems to me they’ve been reasonably decent for a non-ally. Once they got rid of Ahmadinejad. The Russkies [still like to play chicken](http://www.cnn.com/2016/01/29/politics/us-russia-planes-intercept/index.html). > [@](#): > > **(CNN)** - A Russian fighter jet came within 15 feet of a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance plane over the Black Sea this week in what the Pentagon is calling an “unsafe” incident, U.S. officials say. Compared to that, overflying a carrier with an unarmed camera drone is bush league. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-seems-to-be-getting-a-little-ballsy-with-some-of-the-us-fleet/744609/8 "2016-01-29T23:29:29Z")
As best I can tell, neither the Hormuz Strait nor the Black Sea are within U.S. territory. Yet we feel we should complain when the countries who do border those areas perform military actions that make our military feel unwelcome. World’s policeman, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2016, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-seems-to-be-getting-a-little-ballsy-with-some-of-the-us-fleet/744609/9 "2016-01-29T23:34:25Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > As best I can tell, neither the Hormuz Strait nor the Black Sea are within U.S. territory. Yet we feel we should complain when the countries who do border those areas perform military actions that make our military feel unwelcome. World’s policeman, indeed. By the traditional international rules of seamanship and aerial operations, Iran and Russia were being rather jerkish. And since the portions of the Strait of Hormuz and the Black Sea that the incidents occurred in aren’t within Iranian or Russian territory either, unprovokedly jerkish. See also “I’m not touching you, I’m not touching you…” ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-seems-to-be-getting-a-little-ballsy-with-some-of-the-us-fleet/744609/10 "2016-01-30T00:18:14Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#): > > They really seem intent on pushing the limit of restraint here. Not exactly a wise thing on their part. Yet they are being careful to [warn US ships out of their exercise areas now](http://m.navaltoday.com/#newsitem-122552). ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-seems-to-be-getting-a-little-ballsy-with-some-of-the-us-fleet/744609/11 "2016-01-30T01:27:04Z")
> [@Frank](#): > > As best I can tell, neither the Hormuz Strait nor the Black Sea are within U.S. territory. Yet we feel we should complain when the countries who do border those areas perform military actions that make our military feel unwelcome. World’s policeman, indeed. Certain activities, like firing missiles in the vicinity of/at a carrier can be considered an act of war. Protecting US capital assets has nothing to do with “Worlds policemen” when transiting international waters or operating in an area with the permission of the host country. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-seems-to-be-getting-a-little-ballsy-with-some-of-the-us-fleet/744609/12 "2016-01-30T01:53:54Z")
> [@XT](#): > > It’s all fun and games until someone gets an eye put out… Then it’s a new game: find the eye! ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-seems-to-be-getting-a-little-ballsy-with-some-of-the-us-fleet/744609/13 "2016-01-30T03:03:14Z")
Let’s hope that during this latest round of dick-waving that no-one accidentally shoots down a civilian airliner with 290 people aboard. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2016, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/iran-seems-to-be-getting-a-little-ballsy-with-some-of-the-us-fleet/744609/14 "2016-01-30T03:11:44Z")
> [@Baron\_Greenback](#): > > Let’s hope that during this latest round of dick-waving that no-one accidentally shoots down a civilian airliner with 290 people aboard. Good point.