Explosive rhetoric
The AP reports on Iranians who charged US Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz, dropped make believe explosives and threatened “we’re coming at you and you’ll explode in a couple minutes”:
Iranian boats harassed and provoked three U.S. Navy ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, threatening to explode the American vessels. U.S. forces were on the verge of firing on the Iranian boats in the early Sunday incident, when the boats — believed to be from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s navy — turned and moved away…There were no injuries but the official said there could have been, because the Iranian boats turned away “literally at the very moment that U.S. forces were preparing to open fire” in self defense….
The incident occurred at about 5 a.m. local time Sunday as Navy cruiser USS Port Royal, destroyer USS Hopper and frigate USS Ingraham were on their way into the Persian Gulf and passing through the strait — a major oil shipping route….Five small boats began charging the U.S. ships, dropping boxes in the water in front of the ships and forcing the U.S. ships to take evasive maneuvers…the Iranians radioed something like “we’re coming at you and you’ll explode in a couple minutes.”
This development, as well as others, certainly make it look as if there was no hidden deal that triggered the strange recent NIE.