Video of U.S.-Iranian encounter

Five Iranian high-speed attack craft accosted a trio of U.S. Navy warships Jan. 6, in the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. 5th Fleet commander said, prompting evasive maneuvers by the U.S. ships and reportedly bringing them close to opening fire. In this video you can hear the transmissions from the Iranian ships.


‘Filipino Monkey’ behind threats?

By Andrew Scutro and David Brown - Staff writers
Posted : Thursday Jan 17, 2008 10:21:10 EST

The threatening radio transmission heard at the end of a video showing harassing maneuvers by Iranian patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz may have come from a locally famous heckler known among ship drivers as the “Filipino Monkey.”

Since the Jan. 6 incident was announced to the public a day later, the U.S. Navy has said it’s unclear where the voice came from. In the videotape released by the Pentagon on Jan. 8, the screen goes black at the very end and the voice can be heard, distancing it from the scenes on the water.

“We don’t know for sure where they came from,” said Cmdr. Lydia Robertson, spokeswoman for 5th Fleet in Bahrain. “It could have been a shore station.”

While the threat — (03:45m/s)“I am coming to you.(04:14m/s) You will explode in a few minutes” — was picked up during the incident, further jacking up the tension, there’s no proof yet of its origin. And several Navy officials have said it’s difficult to figure out who’s talking.

See the Pentagon’s version of the video