Are U.S. - Iran Navy Confrontations Becoming The New Normal?

Military.com/Stars and Stripes: Navy Faces 'New Normal' in Persian Gulf: More Iran Provocations

WASHINGTON — U.S. sailors in the Persian Gulf can expect increased harassment by Iranian vessels as Iran's hard-liners seek to bolster their position ahead of next year's Iranian election and the U.S. is absorbed in its own electoral campaign.

Some analysts also believe the three incidents Tuesday and Wednesday, during which Iranian fast boats swarmed around U.S. warships in the northern Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz in the southern end, were to practice "swarm tactics" for attacking larger and better armed American vessels.

In one of the incidents, the USS Squall, a coastal patrol ship, fired shots in the water to warn the Iranians.

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WNU Editor: Relations may have improved since the Iranian nuclear deal .... but there are still a number of other divisions where the divide between both countries will guarantee animosities and tensions for a very long time.