Iranian media published a video on Monday from last Thursday of a military helicopter coming within 25 yards of the USS Essex, an amphibious assault ship in the U.S. Navy.
The helicopter circled the ship three times and flew "as low as about 10 feet off the surface of the ocean."
Chief Pentagon spokesman John Kirby had this to say:
"There are rules of engagement, that I'm not going to speak to from the podium, that our commanders have at their disposal to deal with potential threats," Kirby said. "And when you have another armed force, in this case, the Iranian Navy that flies like this, you definitely run the risk of some sort of escalation and a miscalculation or on either side here, and that's not helpful. This one ended peacefully but it doesn't mean it was safe and professional."
Kirby also called the incident "dangerous."
Earlier this month, the Pentagon accused Iran of other "unsafe and unprofessional" activity with drones from the Iranian military.
"Without getting into specifics, the crew of the Essex took the appropriate force protection measures they felt that they needed to, and they acted in accordance with international law," Kirby said. "There was no impact ultimately to the Essex's transit or its operations but that doesn't mean that this wasn't an unsafe and unprofessional act."
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