Iranian and US warships involved in tense Mideast encounter

An Iranian Revolutionary Guard vessel cuts in front of US Coast Guard ship USCGC Monomoy in the Persian Gulf (US Navy/AP)

American and Iranian warships were involved in a tense encounter in the Persian Gulf earlier this month in the first such incident for about a year amid turmoil over Tehran’s tattered nuclear deal, the US Navy has reported.

Footage released by the Navy showed a ship commanded by Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard cut in front of the USCGC Monomoy on April 2, causing the Coast Guard vessel to come to an abrupt stop with its engine smoking.