IRGC Accuses US of ‘Provocation’ in Gulf

In this image provided by the US Navy, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) fast in-shore attack craft (FIAC), a type of speedboat armed with machine guns, speeds near US naval vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Monday, May 10, 2021. (US Navy via AP)
In this image provided by the US Navy, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) fast in-shore attack craft (FIAC), a type of speedboat armed with machine guns, speeds near US naval vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Monday, May 10, 2021. (US Navy via AP)
TT
20

IRGC Accuses US of ‘Provocation’ in Gulf

In this image provided by the US Navy, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) fast in-shore attack craft (FIAC), a type of speedboat armed with machine guns, speeds near US naval vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Monday, May 10, 2021. (US Navy via AP)
In this image provided by the US Navy, an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) fast in-shore attack craft (FIAC), a type of speedboat armed with machine guns, speeds near US naval vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Monday, May 10, 2021. (US Navy via AP)

Iran's Revolutionary Guards on Tuesday accused a US Coast Guard ship of "provocation" after the Pentagon confirmed it fired warning shots against Iranian military boats that approached it in the Gulf.

The Guard’s website, sepahnews.com, said in a statement that Americans were guilty of using “false narratives and unprofessional behavior” and should more strictly “abide by international regulations.”

The statement added the Guard’s navy warned the US vessels to stop their “provocative and aimless shooting.”

It was the second time in two weeks that a US ship has opened fire to warn vessels of the Revolutionary Guards.

“Sadly, harassment by the IRGC Navy is not a new phenomenon. It is something that all of our commanding officers and the crews of our vessels are trained to for,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said.

On April 26, an American warship fired warning shots when IRGC vessels came too close to a patrol in the Gulf.

Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon that 13 Iranian vessels maneuvered at high speed toward six Navy ships that were escorting the guided missile submarine USS Georgia through the Strait on Monday.

He said after two Iranian boats failed to respond to the multiple US warnings and closed to within 300 yards, the Coast Guard cutter Maui fired a volley of warning shots from its 50-caliber machine gun and then another volley when the Iranian boats got within 150 yards.

He said this is the kind of action that could lead to somebody getting hurt and could lead to a real miscalculation there in the region, “and that doesn’t serve anybody’s interests.”

Observers linked the incident to what happened on Saturday when the US seized an arms shipment of thousands of assault weapons, machines guns and sniper rifles hidden aboard a ship in the Arabian Sea, apparently bound for Yemen to support the country's Houthi militias.

The US Navy 5th Fleet said the weapons included “dozens of advanced Russian-made anti-tank guided missiles” and “thousands of Chinese Type 56 assault rifles,” as well as hundreds of Kalashnikov machine guns, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.



Trump Criticizes Putin After Approving More Weapons for Ukraine

 President Donald Trump, left, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
President Donald Trump, left, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
TT
20

Trump Criticizes Putin After Approving More Weapons for Ukraine

 President Donald Trump, left, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP)
President Donald Trump, left, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, right, during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Tuesday, July 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP)

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he had approved sending US defensive weapons to Ukraine and was considering additional sanctions on Moscow, underscoring his frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the growing death toll in Russia's war with Ukraine.

Trump, who pledged as a presidential candidate to end the war within a day, has not been able to follow through on that promise and efforts by his administration to broker peace have come up short.

Trump directed his ire at Putin on Tuesday during a meeting with cabinet officials at the White House.

"I'm not happy with Putin. I can tell you that much right now," Trump said, noting that Russian and Ukrainian soldiers were dying in the thousands.

"We get a lot of [expletive] thrown at us by Putin ... He's very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless," Trump said.

Trump said he was considering whether to support a bill in the Senate that would impose steep sanctions on Russia over the war. "I'm looking at it very strongly," he said.

The bill, whose lead sponsors are Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, would also punish other countries that trade with Moscow, imposing 500% tariffs on nations that buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports.

DEFENSIVE WEAPONS AGAINST RUSSIAN ADVANCES

Trump said on Monday that the United States would send more weapons to Ukraine, primarily defensive ones, to help it defend itself against Russian advances.

On Tuesday he said he had approved such a move. "We're sending some defensive weapons to Ukraine, and I've approved that," he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday he had ordered an expansion of contacts with the United States to ensure critical deliveries of military supplies, primarily air defense.

"We currently have all the necessary political statements and decisions and we must implement them as quickly as possible to protect our people and positions," he said. "These are critical deliveries that mean saving lives and protecting Ukrainian cities and villages. I expect results from these contacts very soon. And this week, we are preparing formats for meetings of our military and political teams."

Zelenskiy has repeatedly urged Ukraine's Western allies to impose tougher sanctions on Moscow to force the Kremlin to agree to a ceasefire as a step towards reaching an end to the war, now 40 months old.

A decision by the Pentagon to halt some shipments of critical weapons to Ukraine prompted warnings by Kyiv last week that the move would weaken its ability to defend against Russia's intensifying airstrikes and battlefield advances.

Trump, who was seated next to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, was asked on Tuesday who had ordered that pause. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Trump responded.