Iran has said it warned a United States Navy destroyer to change course as it approached Iranian territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, but the US has claimed the confrontation was “professional” and had “no impact” on its naval mission. Iranian state media published video and images of Wednesday’s incident – the first direct encounter reported between Iranian and US forces since the 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June – taken from a helicopter dispatched to confront the USS Fitzgerald guided missile destroyer. “US destroyer ‘Fitzgerald’ attempted to approach waters under Iran’s monitoring, in a provocative move”, Iranian state television said. In video footage of the reported encounter, a helicopter is seen flying in close proximity to the warship and an Iranian crew member can be heard issuing what appeared to be a radio warning in English to the warship, ordering it to change course as it was approaching Iran’s territorial waters at about 10am local time (06:00 GMT). Iranian state media have described the encounter as a tense exchange.

Full report : Iranian helicopter confronts US warship approaching territorial waters.