‘Iran patrol boats, aircraft trailed US aircraft carrier in PG’

Iranian patrol boats and aircraft have closely followed a US aircraft carrier strike group as it exited the Strait of Hormuz, says a US naval commander.

The USS Abraham Lincoln, along with two American warships, passed through the strategic strait under the close aerial and naval surveillance of Iranian forces on Tuesday, nearly three weeks after they entered the Persian Gulf.

At least two Iranian patrol boats and one patrol plane monitored the US warships as they crossed into the Sea of Oman, said Rear Admiral Troy Shoemaker, the commander of the Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier.

Shoemaker described Iran’s surveillance as a routine activity, saying, “We would do the same things off the coast of the United States … It’s more than reasonable. We’re operating in their backyard.”

The Lincoln is expected to provide air support for the US-led forces in Afghanistan, starting the mission Thursday.

The Strait of Hormuz has become the focal point of a recent escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran. It is a narrow shipping channel (less than 50 kilometers wide in its narrowest part) that connects the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman.

Statistic wise, the strait is one of the world’s most important waterways, with a daily flow of about 15 million barrels of oil which accounts for 90 percent of the Persian Gulf exports and 40 percent of the global oil consumption.