DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. diplomats warned Saturday that commercial airliners flying over the wider Persian Gulf faced a risk of being 'misidentified' amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran.
1 / 5In this Thursday, May 16, 2019 photograph released by the U.S. Navy, Aviation Boatswain's Mate Airman Kayla Pettit operates a center deck station as an F-18 Super Hornet takes off from the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Arabian Sea. On Saturday, May 18, 2019, U.S. diplomats warned that commercial airliners flying over the wider Persian Gulf faced a risk of being"misidentified" amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and Iran. DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — U.S.
Concerns about a possible conflict have flared since the White House ordered warships and bombers to the region to counter an alleged, unexplained threat from Iran that has seen America order nonessential diplomatic staff out of Iraq. Saudi Arabia directly blamed Iran for the drone assault, and a local newspaper linked to the Al Saud royal family called on Thursday for America to launch"surgical strikes" on Tehran.
This presents"an increasing inadvertent risk to U.S. civil aviation operations due to the potential for miscalculation or misidentification," the warning said. It also said aircraft could experience interference with its navigation instruments and communications jamming"with little to no warning." The warning appeared rooted in what happened 30 years ago after Operation Praying Mantis, a daylong naval battle in the Persian Gulf between American forces and Iran during the country's long 1980s war with Iraq. On July 3, 1988, the USS Vincennes chased Iranian speedboats that allegedly opened fire on a helicopter into Iranian territorial waters, then mistook an Iran Air heading to Dubai for an Iranian F-14. The Vincennes fired two missiles at the airplane, killing all aboard the flight.
Zarif added that while Trump has said that he too is not seeking war,"some that have sat around him" are pushing for such a conflict. That appeared to be a dig at national security adviser John Bolton, who for years has promoted the idea of overthrowing Iran's government.
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