Bush calls Iran's confrontation of US ships in Gulf a 'provocative act'

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
President George W. Bush said Tuesday that Iran's confrontation with US Navy ships in the Gulf was a "provocative act." "It was a dangerous situation," he said at a White House news conference. "They should not have done it, clear and simple. I don't know what their thinking was, but I'm telling you what my thinking was. I think it was a provocative act." The top US Navy commander in the area said an Iranian fleet of high-speed boats charged at and threatened to blow up a three-ship US Navy convoy passing near but outside Iranian waters on Monday, as they headed into the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian fleet "maneuvered aggressively" and then vanished as the American ship commanders were preparing to open fire, said Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff. No shots were fired.