An Iranian aircraft buzzed a Navy helicopter operating in the Persian Gulf earlier this month, a U.S. military official said Tuesday.
The military official told CNN that an observation aircraft flew within 50 yards of an armed U.S. Navy helicopter.
“We think this might have been locally ordered,” the official said.
If true, the incident would suggest that some Iranian military units may not be under full control of their commanders.
The official told CNN that the Iranian provocation “might have been buffoonery,” but that there is always a risk for such instances to spiral out of control.
The incident is said to have occurred between an unarmed Iranian observation Y-12 aircraft and a U.S. Navy MH-60R helicopter from the USS Carl Vinson, which was flying in international airspace.
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The official told CNN that the Navy took pictures of the encounter but will not release them.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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