Iran Fires Back With Its Own Boat Video
Grainy Footage Depicts "Routine" Encounter With U.S. Ships; U.S. Formally Protests Incident
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Play CBS Video
Video
Iran: Pentagon Video Faked
The Pentagon released a video of an alleged confrontation between U.S. naval ships and Iranian speedboats, but Iran says it's a hoax. Harry Smith speaks with retired U.S. Army Col. Jeff McCausland.
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Video
Video Shows US-Iran Boat Clash
The Pentagon released tapes showing Iranian speedboats making a run at U.S. ships in the Strait of Hormuz. It was a dangerous confrontation that almost led to a battle at sea. Kimberly Dozier reports.
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Video
Navy Video Of Hormuz Incident
A tense encounter in the Strait of Hormuz between U.S. Navy warships and five Iranian Revolutionary Guard fast boats is shown in this U.S. Navy video shot aboard the USS Hopper on January 6, 2008.
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Photo
A file photo of the guided missile cruiser USS Port Royal, one of three Navy ships that were harrassed by five Iranian fast boats on Sunday. (U.S. Navy/PM 2nd Class C. Mobley)
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Timeline
The U.S. And Iran
Key events in once friendly, now contentious relationship between Washington and Tehran.
The grainy 5-minute, 20-second video - without sound or narration - showed a man speaking into a handheld radio, with three U.S. ships floating in the distance. It appeared to be shot from a small boat bobbing at least 100 meters from the American warships.
The footage did not show any Iranian boats approaching the U.S. vessels, nor any provocation. But the short clip likely did not show Sunday's entire encounter, which U.S. Navy officials described as threatening, and said lasted about 20 minutes.
It aired on Iran's state-run English-language channel Press TV, whose signal is often blocked inside Iran.
The clip also aired on the state-run Al-Alam Arabic channel, with an announcer saying the video showed "a routine and regular measure."
Later, another state TV channel aired 4 minutes of audio it said were radio communications between the Iranian boats and American ships.
"Coalition warship number 73, this is an Iranian navy patrol boat," a man's voice said in heavily-accented English. "This is coalition warship number 73 operating in international waters," an American voice replied.
Meanwhile Thursday, the U.S. lodged a formal diplomatic protest with Iran over the incident. The protest, which repeats public U.S. complaints about the "provocative" action, was sent to the Iranian Foreign Ministry through the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which looks after U.S. interests in Iran, deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters. He could not say if the Iranians had actually received and acknowledged receipt of the protest.
The Pentagon has released its own video of Sunday's incident, showing small Iranian boats swarming around U.S. warships in the Strait of Hormuz.
In the recording, a man threatens in English, "I am coming to you. ... You will explode after ... minutes."
The incident, which ended without any shots fired, has heightened U.S.-Iranian tension as President Bush visits the region. Mr. Bush was in the West Bank on Thursday, and heads next to Arab Gulf nations where he is expected to discuss strategy on Iran.
Iran has denied its boats threatened the U.S. vessels, and accused Washington of fabricating its video. The Pentagon dismissed that claim and warned its ships would respond with force if threatened.
The Iranian video "seems to underscore the fact that the U.S. ships were operating in international waters, something so far, at least, the Iranians have not refuted," retired U.S. Army Col. Jeff McCausland told CBS' The Early Show.
McCausland, who is director of national security affairs for the Washington-based law firm Buchanan, Ingersoll, and Rooney added that Iran's claim that the Pentagon's video was fabricated could be an attempt to "ratchet up" tensions between the two nations.
On Thursday, the Web site of the Iranian state broadcasting company quoted a top Revolutionary Guards commander as calling the Pentagon's video "unusual and illogical."
"This attention by the U.S. media and officials to a routine encounter means Americans are taking an unusual approach to very ordinary issue," Gen. Ali Fadavi, the Guards' acting naval chief, was quoted as saying.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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See all 385 CommentsThis is what America has lost by tolerating this criminal and incompetent regime.
Time for regime change in America!
Neither video was any fun.
Here is a possibility maybe it is propaganda on both sides and they both are lying.
In a conflict there can only be one right side however, both sides can be wrong. Which one do you think occurs most of the time?
The Emperor also hopes that the winner will be eligible for the grand prize of $10,000 which would enable the Great Emperor to keep the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan going for another minute.
SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!!
Posted by omega39 at 08:50 AM : Jan 10, 2008
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Partly true. It''s over $3/regular today, although it''s 7 cents/gallon in Venezuela.
It could be on orders from lame duck as he has nothing positive for his legacy but two lost wars.
http://www.citizinemag.com/politics/politics_0508_iraq_garsmith.htm
Partly true. It''''s over $3/regular today, although it''''s 7 cents/gallon in Venezuela.
It could be on orders from lame duck as he has nothing positive for his legacy but two lost wars.
Posted by Vet1971
Amazing huh, the Iranians could do far more damage to this country by playing on the fear and greed of the speculative markets than they ever could by dropping 5 "box bombs" in front of three warships.
Posted by omega39 at 09:03 AM : Jan 10, 2008
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After we cause problems in the Straights of Hormuz, and the barges and sea mines have been sunk in the narrow shipping lanes, Saudi oil will travel in the opposite direction, down the Arabian Sea, around the Cape of Good Hope, and up the Atlantic, and we get to pay $4 a gallon for gasoline.
That will be part of the lame duck''s legacy.
And Venezuela''s gas will still be 7 cents a gallon.
So now we''ve heard video from both sides, which in and of itself is very interesting since for the past 4 years Bush has declined to share most information and resisted putting anything up to public scrutiny--citing national security--and then something which is definitely a matter of national security is "released".
Let''s think on that. Why would Bush all of sudden want a sharing moment about what is really going on with the American people? Maybe it is similar to him sharing the yellow cake story and curveballs nuclear lab lies and Saddam cozy with Al Qaeda--all later found out to be lies and manipulation to get a war.
Believe have of what you see--and none of what you hear. It is time we see the doctored GPS photos showing actual locations at the time, now boyz. LOL
Why would they risk losing EVERYTHING they have gained by provoking the US??
This is another push by the Bush admin to try and start another military conflict in the middle east. They are still after regime change in Iran.
We are informed, open-minded and intelligent. We look at history and make decisions based on FACTS.
We do not ignore the truth or make illogical conclusions based on PR.
You ought to try it sometime.
Posted by clestes
At the very least, continued hostilities can keep oil prices (and oil company profits) from dropping. Both sides benefit from $100/bbl oil, that is why this had to be news.
Posted by starkx6 at 09:01 AM : Jan 10, 2008
How do you KNOW the Iranians actually made that threat? Because someone cobbled together a video? We are in that region based on a cart load of LIES and MISINFORMATION whose real purpose was to start a war.
We are also usually kept in the dark about everything from who outed a CIA agent, to wiretaps to our Energy programs. The only time Bush gives us a "sharing Moment" is when he is lying about something and wants our support--then his brainwashing bs comes out. Any other time, everything he and Cheney say, do or cause is shrouded under "NATIONAL SECURITY".
Well, confrontations in international waters is definitely "national security" so why is the Shrub giving us a sharing moment? The man is indeed a consummate liar--I trust neither side--but consider, the Iranians are right outside their own country--a place they have a legitimate right to be---our ships are thousands of miles away from home--in a place and due to a situation that may not be legal at all.
Judging from the lack of "Mission Accomplished" banners being visible in the grainy video, I''m guessing no.
What do monsters do when they are in political trouble?--They try to sir up war...they form parties ''of National Unity''...they resort to "the last refuge of the scoundrel"...patriotism...a false patriotism that uses love of country for personal gain...a flag of convenience to scuttle beneath...as they use ''other people''s money'' for their businesses, they use ''other people''s blood'' for their own sinister enterprises.
Why is it always August 1914 under the Bush Regime?
Down with the Regime!
Posted by notblue at 10:04 AM : Jan 10, 2008
Okay Der. Bizzaro. NO Iranians flew planes into our buildings. No Iraqis either. Probably no afghanis either. A lot of Saudi Arabians did (19 out of about 22) but we don''t even begin to attack them or give them sanctions. What we have here is a failure to communicate--the people Bush needs to convince (the majority of Americans now) aren''t buying his lies--as for you and others who suck up anything he says...well--fool you once--shame on him, fool you twice--shame on you--now that he is fooling you for the umpteenth time--we can validate your place in the moronic sucker club.
Down with the Regime!
Nonsense! What gobbli-*** you think.
There are plenty of trustworthy news sources both US and international that print the truth and they can read and understood by anyone willing to have an openmind and at least average intelligence.
Facts are facts, my friend. They cannot be denied. If you look at them objectively you can draw the correct conclusions.
Posted by notblue at 10:10 AM : Jan 10, 2008
Here 5 hard but easy questions
And why is there sooo much hatred of Bush ? (I don''t think there is hatred of America by this side--just a different view of America).
Is it because Bush has been a divider not a uniter and that he lied so many times and is nation building in Iraq after stating he would not be that kind of President?
Can America ever be wrong? If so, can Americans call their own country on it--or are they supposed to back it no matter what it does?
Finally, what kind of person backs wrong actions---just because they are from a place? That is like having a monster for a child and defending him and excusing him no matter what.
Fact 2. They released the British sailors unharmed.
Fact 3. They are being invited to sit at the negiotiating table along with Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt to discuss the middle east future. They have not been there for decades.
Fact 4. They have everything to lose and nothing to gain by provoking the US.
Fact 5. Bush is worried about his legacy.
Fact 6. Big oil wants to control the middle east oil pipelines and Iran stands in the way.
Fact 7. The Bush admin has been embarressed by the NIE and would love nothing better than to be proved right.
Think about all the above, check them out.
Chances are you won''t, of course, because facts don''t mean anything to you.
Iran sees the horror of Iraq--why would they want that? We think we did and are doing Iraq a favor by our invasion and war--so why not "share some" of our ''freedom train wreck'' with Iran?
This year we will spend 600 billion plus on defense, more than the rest of the world combined!!!; we have satellites that can take pictures of license plates from space and some of the best video and telecommunications equipment in the world, but the best we get for this ''encounter'' is cheap video. An Aegis class ship, one of the most advanced in the world but the Navy can not say if the radio transmissions came from the boats or from the shore?
Lets get all the facts on the table and get them straight before we start another Bush style, preemptive, shoot first and ask questions later (and perhaps unnecessary) war. War should not be the first American option for everything. We are supposed to be better than that!
WHY would the US be trying to start a war with Iran? WHY would Bush want to start another war? He''ll be in office another 11 months......WHY would he????
You people are idiots!
Posted by boatdocster at 10:25 AM : Jan 10, 2008
It''s the Iranians who do not have state of the art video, not us. But that in and of itself means nothing.
If they don''t make the videos poor and grainy, any 1st year Graphic design student will see the cut and paste of the videos. I wonder how much we spent to put our version together. Bush does not share NSI so why now? They already made a mistake in admitting that the Navy had to "get the footage together to show to the public by putting together the video footage" That is suspicious enough. First, we aren''t supposed to be shown anything about National Security. Second--the act of having to get anything put together suggests doctoring.
Why share now? Bush wanted to use another yellow cake story--but the CIA warned him it was too easy to debunk when the rest of the world followed that trail?
So now we get **** poor video. Where is the GPS info? it will show where everyone was. I bet the ''doctors of video'' did not think of that. Get the GPS info and match it to the video frame, by frame--if it does not match--we are looking at **************. As for the sound--given we lied and had fake news stations speaking Iraqi in Iraq and lying about the war--finding a person to give lines for a video is nothing.
Posted by b-easy63
Knowing free spending Bush, I''m guessing 17 million to have the rendon group do it.
You people are idiots!
Posted by Infidel_Us at 10:28 AM : Jan 10, 2008
Hmmmm. Good point. Why would Bush want another war, just as he is leaving office. Of course he would not have to leave office if he declared a "state of emergency" before the transition and suspended elections. Sort of like Musharref did in Pakistan. Do you think that is it? Is that also why Bush wants full control of its state''s militia/National Guard and the power to use the Guard against American citizens in the event of an "emergency".
The man scrapped our participation in the Geneva Conventions and asked for immunity from war crimes---there is not much downhill to go to from there. Why not another war---it has been very, very profitable for some--like the Carlisle Group, Exxon, BP, etc Energy concerns. Things that strangely, Bush, Cheney and Rice are heavily invested in and whose dealings are now all secret and a matter of national security. LOL
Well, it''s a good thing they know that, isn''t it? I mean, they certainly didn''t know that the US has superior fire before, but now they do, right?
I mean, first we keep hearing how the Iranians are building a nuclear weapon. That turns out to be false.
Bush still claims they are a threat, but really has no evidence to back up this claim.
He gets ready to go to the middle east, for the first time, still claiming this and suddenly there is an incident in the Strait of Hormuz where 5 Iranian speed boats "provoke" 3 massive US warships.
Does all this sound staged to anyone? It sure does to me. He is DESPERATE to attack Iran and is trying anything to force a confrontation.
How does he think peace is going to be accomplished with Israel and Palistine if the US is warring with Iran??
Iran has no intention of provoking the US. They have been careful NOT to when they could have anytime this past 5 years.
Well, it''''s a good thing they know that, isn''''t it? I mean, they certainly didn''''t know that the US has superior fire before, but now they do, right?
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Posted by rudy654 at 10:39 AM : Jan 10, 2008
No, our commanders in the field gave them the benifit of doubt. If they were those suicide types it doesent matter for them anyways.
Fair warning has been givin, do you think they would do the same for us?
Fair warning has been givin, do you think they would do the same for us? Posted by hillaryin08 at 10:44 AM
They are suicide types? How do you know that?
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